Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Stella Christie has called for caution in accepting information from artificial intelligence (AI) to help counter disinformation, which poses serious challenges in the digital era.
In a statement here on Friday, Christie said the AI development has increased the challenge of distinguishing accurate from false information. She noted that error rates among 10 major AI chatbots rose from 18 percent in August 2024 to 35 percent in 2025.
“We believe hoaxes are believed not because people are foolish, but because the human brain naturally uses fast thinking shortcuts. Once we pause for two seconds to think again, our ability to recognize hoaxes increases significantly,” Christie said.
The cognitive psychology expert said hoaxes are more easily believed when they feel familiar, align with existing knowledge, or trigger negative emotions such as anger and fear.
She highlighted the social media business model that prioritizes user attention, or the attention economy, noting that platform algorithms tend to favor emotionally provoking and clickbait content over accuracy.
“Fact-checking must still be done, but it cannot be the only solution because there are too many hoaxes to check one by one. A much cheaper and more effective way is to remind everyone to pause before sharing information,” Christie said.
Christie also stressed the importance of digital media literacy and critical thinking education, adding that education needs to be continuously tested for effectiveness through scientific evidence.
According to her, excessively labeling information as a hoax can create new problems, as it encourages people to become skeptical even of information that is actually accurate.
Therefore, she urged all elements of society, especially young people, to get into the habit of pausing and re-checking information before sharing it.
She said this simple habit is an important step toward breaking the chain of hoax spread amid the rapid flow of digital information.
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Translator: Sean, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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