The Verification Trap: Epistemic Decay and the Rise of Fabricated Truth in the Post-GenAI Era
Abstract
This paper formalizes the "Visual Warning Map" theorem, detailing the intersection of AI Signal Value and Grounded Resource Costs. We argue that without proactive provenance anchoring, the information ecosystem will reach an "Epistemic Crossover" point between Year 5 and Year 7. Post-Year 7, "Fabricated Truth" becomes the dominant global heuristic, leading to a catastrophic "Verification Debt" that threatens the stability of human-digital governance.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Misinformation and Its Impacts
Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Epistemology
Ethics
and Metaphysics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Publication date
- 10 January 2026
- Document type
- Preprint