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The 5 Standard Digital Precautions

The 5 Standard Digital Precautions
Image by Eric Kerr using Midjourney

AI is not the problem; We are. It’s time for us to take responsibility for our actions — what we share and consume — in the digital world.

Once an expansive information highway, the internet has evolved into a congested stretch of road riddled with potholes and billboards as far as the eye can see.

While we wait for someone to deal with the crumbling infrastructure, we will need to protect ourselves and the other drivers sharing the road.

Each of us has a responsibility to be better digital citizens.

This involves actively participating in the digital world in a respectful, ethical, and knowledgeable manner.

It's about being aware of what you’re consuming and—I think this is critical—what you are putting out into the digital world.

Everyone should have a basic understanding of how they can reduce the risk of data exposure, diversify and verify the integrity of sources, control their reactions, demand transparency from companies, and explore alternative solutions and new innovations.

It's essential for individuals to possess a foundational knowledge on minimizing their data exposure risks, critically assessing and corroborating information sources, managing their responses to digital content, advocating for transparency from corporations, and actively seeking out novel solutions and innovations.

The key is being proactive and consistent.

The 5 Standard Digital Precautions

Be Curious

Let curiosity, not assumptions or knee-jerk reactions, guide online exchanges.

Ask What > Why questions. “What is the source of this information?” “What is the intent of the person behind this content” “What if this were true? What if it wasn’t?” “What would it mean to share this?”

Verify Before You Trust

Carefully evaluate sources and evidence across multiple credibility points. Remember, you can always find some content to validate your beliefs or opinion. Just because you believe it to be true, doesn’t always mean it is.

Give it a Beat

Pause. Take a breath. Slow down. Technology has made us more impulsive. But even though we can like, share, purchase, block, report, and send with a click, doesn’t always mean we should.

Give yourself a moment to pause and consider that every small action can snowball into something significant. Share consciously and ethically.

A Human in the Loop with Eric Kerr
Curated insights from the intersection of creativity, technology, and personal transformation. For those feeling lost in the wake of technological advancements and societal change.
A Human in the Loop with Eric Kerr

Check Yourself

It’s easy to get worked up online. Algorithms are programmed to curate our online experience, finding patterns in our online behavior and using this to keep us engaged. This is done by tapping into our base emotions and deeply rooted biases.

If you start getting frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed by some post or online troll, **put your phone down or take your hands off the keyboard. Take a breath. Consider retracing your steps to figure out how you got there.

What triggered you? What challenged you? What ignited something in you? How did that happen? Could you recognize it if it were to happen again?

The feeling is important, but the anonymous online troll (which is probably a bot) isn’t. You’re better off going for a walk.

Data is the real currency. You sure you want to give yours away? Before you sign up, agreeing to terms and conditions, you might want to see what information you’re giving away. There is a price to personalization and convenience.

Safeguard your personal data and opt out of tracking online and off. This includes biometric data like your face (TSA facial screening is voluntary!), voice, retina scan, and other unique identifiers.

Pro Tip: Copy and paste Terms and Conditions into an LLM like ChatGPT. Ask it to summarize and identify anything regarding your personal information or intellectual property.

Get consent from others before sharing images or personal info online or using generative A.I. tools. PARENTS, I’M TALKING TO YOU!

The first social media babies are adults now. Some are pushing for laws to protect kids from their parents’ oversharing | CNN
Cam Barrett knows the precise date of her first menstrual period. Her mother posted the news on Facebook. Barrett, who lives in Illinois, is part of a growing movement of young people who are urging lawmakers to protect children whose parents monetize their private lives on social media.
CNNFaith Karimi

BONUS

Critical Thinking

The 5 Questions from The Futility of Trying to Teach Everything of Importance (1989) by Grant Wiggins

  1. Whose voice am I hearing? From where is the statement or image coming? What’s the point of view?
  2. What is the evidence? How do we know? How credible is the evidence?
  3. How do things fit together? What else do I know that fits with this?
  4. What if? Could it have been otherwise? Are there alternatives?
  5. What difference does it make? Who cares? Why should I care?