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RAND report to Pentagon suggests Memes Pose a Threat to the US Financial System (hackernoon.com)

submitted 8 months ago by whydudothatdrcrane@lemmy.ml to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago (2 children)

lol a meme is literally just an idea.

Free exchange of ideas is the core concept of democracy.

[–] whydudothatdrcrane@lemmy.ml 1 points 8 months ago

Therefore, may I say, the free exchange of ideas poses a threat to the US financial system. May I add "It always was".

[–] Kelly@lemmy.world 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Exactly, and the report uses the term "memetic" to distinguish from its frequent use to mean "image macro". Unfortunately the article headline chose to confuse things.

"Advanced memetic engineering attacks could progressively undermine trust in financial markets and institutions, causing a steady, incremental impact on market stability rather than a sudden breakdown“
RAND Corporation, Technological and Economic Threats to the US Financial System, July 2024

The article body does a good job covering the topic, its a shame they chose such a clumsy headline.

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago

Image memes were never the only memes in internet lingo, and the original Dawkins term is exactly how they're using it, as the analogue for gene, but with ideas generally. That's all fine.

But that makes their core concept "people might spread ideas we don't like".