alt Hacker NewsIsn't there a difference between the models output reflecting the mean of public discourse and the active adjustment of information by the government?
Irrespective of how close the outcomes are to the actual facts, those two things have a different quality, don't they?
> Isn't there a difference between the models output reflecting the mean of public discourse and the active adjustment of information by the government?
Not as much a difference as you would wish, as mean of public discourse is very actively managed, to our collective detriment, by a very small group of powerful people, which often includes the government. It's the nature of mass media, and the incestuous relationship between power and reach.
They Thought They Were Free, and all that. By the time the 'mean of public discourse' centers on something incredibly stupid or awful, nobody can be arsed to figure out who planted that idea in our heads.