New research suggests that AI chatbots like ChatGPT can persuade roughly one out of every 25 people to change who they’re going to vote for — with one major caveat.
First reported by The Washington Post, the revelation comes as a result of joint international studies led by researchers at MIT. To analyze the potential for AI chatbots to sway voters’ minds, the researchers recruited more than 2,000 voting-aged US citizens sit down to talk to either a pro-Donald Trump or pro-Kamala Harris bot.
Overall, the Harris bot came out on top, convincing one out of every 21 participants to change their vote. The Trump bot fared much worse, flipping about one in every 35.
“I certainly see it now from your perspective and [I] must say Kamala Harris really shows sigs [sic] of a trustworthy candidate,” one study participant wrote after their conversation with the bot. (During their initial interview, that same voter had referred to Harris as “fishy.”)
While one in 25 might not sound like a ton, it shakes out to four percent of the study’s total population. That’s actually quite impressive, and according to WaPo, is more effective than the typical TV campaign ad.
However, there’s one incredible catch to all of this: voters were swayed just the same by false information as they were by factual info.
“One implication of this is, if [AI companies] put a thumb on the scale and set the models up to push for one side or another, it could meaningfully change people’s minds,” said David Rand, a co-author of the studies. “The more info you give people, the more they change their minds.”
Overall, researchers found the chatbots were at their most persuasive when they simply vomited up claims — factual or otherwise — in a big list. Other voter outreach tactics, like deep canvassing, which relies on storytelling and empathy, were much less effective for the bots.
More on AI chatbots: Report Finds That Leading Chatbots Are a Disaster for Teens Facing Mental Health Struggles
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