Are We Ready to Accept Our Alternative History?

Asharq Al-Awsat

13-05-2025

Whenever I am feeling nostalgic, I listen to the remarkable late Iraqi poet Lamia Abbas Amara's poem about Beirut... a city she came to adore after residing there for a time. Beirut loved her back, even more.
The poem begins with this beautiful verse:
"I focus my eyes in doubt to ask them:
Has Beirut left me so that I return?
Where do I begin? There are heaps my lips,
Brimming with chaos... that cannot be sequenced."
Two entire generations of Lebanese citizens have no memories of this Beirut that Lamia loved with a passion decades ago. Two generations who physically escaped the monstrous war that devoured tens of thousands, but who remain culturally and psychologically scarred to this day.
Memory, along with truth and innocence, was among the first casualties of this war. And today, the truth lies in shame as Lebanese people from all walks of life complain, trade suspicions and accusations, and find comfort in blaming all these sins on the politicians of the past.
There is no doubt that politicians bear much of the blame for the calamities that have unfolded in Lebanon since 1975. Nonetheless those same politicians, in one way or another, were also victims, or rather products, of a culture shaped by deals bigger than them and their small country located in a region that has long been - and remains - among the most volatile in the world.
In Lebanon, contradictory identities and allegiances are evident even in casual conversations and turns of phrase. Conceptions of nationalism, extremism, consensus, sovereignty, and coexistence remain contested, with interpretations diverging in accordance with the values and conditions of the community one was raised in.
I would argue that this state of affairs is by no means unique to Lebanon, although it is most apparent there because Lebanon has never been subjected to the kind of "totalitarian rule" seen for decades in neighboring countries. Totalitarian regimes became accustomed to suppressing diversity and silencing dissent with iron and fire and in the dark dungeons of intelligence services!
I recall, for instance, that when former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad criticized the "sectarianism" of Lebanese society, fools applauded him and the wise were left stunned because they knew that a volcanic eruption had been awaiting him.
The sectarianism of the Lebanese was "visible" because of their excessive indulgence in freedom, which went so far as to engender chaos. Meanwhile, millions of their Arab brothers, especially in Syria, knew that every breath they took was being accounted for so much so that they came to lose trust in even their closest relatives.
That all belongs in the past, which must be remembered if we are to avoid repeating it. In theory, this is a valid claim. However, the present and future have not been guaranteed...
Most Arab countries have young populations. Our people are still new to managing differences, dealing with diversity, and navigating responsible and mature democracy. However, if we examine what the "social media revolution" has done (and the challenges that artificial intelligence could present) we might find that, even in the most advanced countries with long-established democracies, things are not necessarily going much better. The rules of the game have changed entirely.
We are not the only ones who have to contend with the attacks of bots and trolls that spread disinformation, twist concepts, fuel the fires of fanaticism and racism, and poison the relationship among the communities of our society, using anonymous accounts, propaganda tools, and dangerous campaigns run by intelligence agencies.
In the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, and elsewhere, the past decade has made the dangerous role that social media can play in spreading lies, fabrications, slander, incitement, and character assassination, strengthening extremist and racist political parties.
In Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and several other Arab countries, unrestrained (there is no effective legislation) social media websites have effectively become tools of sedition and civil war.
Yet even so, it seems that our journey has just begun! Artificial intelligence could present even more insidious and terrifying threats, not only in terms of shaping the present and manipulating the future, but also in rewriting the past.
In its January 28, 2024 issue, The New York Times published an investigative piece under the striking headline: "AI Is Coming for The Past Too!"
On March 12, American website "The Hill" reported that the American Edge Project had released a report warning that China could manage to rewrite history through artificial intelligence in order to dominate the world. Former US Congress members Loretta Sanchez and Greg Walden introduce the article with a warning: "Imagine waking up to a world where entire chapters of history have quietly disappeared and key facts about important news are simply nowhere to be found..."
"Fortunately for those of us living in the United States, such a scenario remains a catastrophic nightmare - but for hundreds of millions living under authoritarian regimes, it is a daily reality," they then add.
The authors go on to unpack the study's findings. China is currently seeking to harness artificial intelligence to rewrite history, erasing its human rights violations and any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.
Elsewhere, an April 10 Australian report explains that AI-generated images by "Facebook/AAP" can blend reality and fiction. That is, it can be used to rewrite history and manipulate images of everything from the Nazi Holocaust to the September 11 attacks and the events in Gaza and Ukraine.
Now, can we imagine what this means for us in the Levant? Can we wrap our heads around what Israel, a technologically and cybernetically advanced state, could do to "rewrite" our history and tailor this history to its narrative, as it is already doing? It knows far more about us than we know about ourselves or it.
Are we not, we who know so little about ourselves (to say nothing about other citizens) easy prey? What protects us from being chewed up and discarded without even noticing?