Doug Plummer served as a beloved mayor in the heart of Sharon Springs, New York, a close-knit community of just over 500 people. Known for his warmth and charisma, Plummer left a lasting impression on everyone he met. \u201cHe was one of those people that even if you only met him once, you left the meeting convinced you were his best friend,\u201d reminisced his friend Corbie Mitleid. \u201cHe was incandescent. He was charismatic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plummer’s life was tragically cut short in December after a battle with cancer. In the wake of his passing, Mitleid sought out his obituary online, hoping to see a tribute that reflected his impact. Instead, she was met with a distressing discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI began to find these fake obits all over the country,\u201d said Mitleid. \u201cPeople who never knew him\u2026 facts were wrong. Some of them said he died in an accident\u2026 it was awful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This unsettling phenomenon is part of a larger issue: the rise of AI-generated misinformation. Grant Fergusson, an Equal Justice Works Fellow for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), highlighted the problem. \u201cThis is a really, really disturbing example of a much larger trend that we\u2019re seeing, which is just the proliferation of AI-generated misinformation,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fergusson pointed out that these fake obituaries are often a result of AI hallucinations. This occurs when AI systems erroneously combine disparate pieces of information, resulting in factually incorrect content. \u201cThere is a lot of AI-generated garbage out there and a lot of it isn\u2019t malicious in any sense,\u201d Fergusson noted. \u201cPeople are looking for clicks and ad revenue and sometimes obituaries are going to be one of the things that are popping up on websites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the spread of false information, there are concerns about potential scams targeting the grieving. Amy Nofziger, Director of Fraud Victim Support for AARP, expressed her worries. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what the scammers are going to be doing with these fake obituaries,\u201d she said. \u201cAre they going to set up a fake GoFundMe account? Are they putting malware on these links? We just don\u2019t know. That\u2019s why people really need to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nofziger advises caution when navigating online obituaries. \u201cI always recommend going directly to the source,\u201d she suggested. \u201cIf you know the funeral home or the people taking care of the arrangements, and oftentimes a family member or a friend is going to send you the announcement\u2026 Look at the URL. Is it from out of the country? Don\u2019t click on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proliferation of AI-generated misinformation has prompted debates in Washington about how best to regulate artificial intelligence. Last year, President Biden signed an executive AI safety and security order. However, no mandate requires AI-generated content to be labeled, although some platforms like YouTube have taken voluntary steps in this direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mitleid hopes lawmakers will act swiftly to regulate AI-related misinformation to protect those grieving. \u201cIt is appalling and to trade on other people\u2019s grief is inhumane,\u201d she stated. \u201cDoes it need to be heavily regulated? Yes. Will it be? I have my doubts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fergusson added that strong data privacy protections could significantly help manage harmful AI uses. \u201cThe more protections, the more regulations we have around how companies can collect and use data, the better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the debate over AI regulation continues, the community of Sharon Springs remembers Doug Plummer for the genuine connections he fostered and the positive impact he had on their lives. His legacy serves as a reminder of the need for careful stewardship of technology to honor the memories of those who have passed away, free from the distortions of misinformation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Doug Plummer served as a beloved mayor in the heart of Sharon Springs, New York, a close-knit community of just over 500 people. Known for his warmth and charisma, Plummer left a lasting impression on everyone he met. \u201cHe was one of those people that even if you only met him once, you left the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":67340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6219],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybernews"],"yoast_head":"\n