Is your AI chatbot manipulating you? Subtly reshaping your opinions?

"Generative AI has changed the equation of persuasion entirely: chatbots can now deliver a personalized, adaptive and targeted message, informed by the most intimate details of your life."

"LLMs can hyper-target messages by drawing from your social media posts and photos. They can mine hundreds of previous chatbot conversations in which you asked for relationship advice, discussed your parenting fails and shared your health concerns and financial woes. They can also learn from each interaction, refining their manipulation in real time, targeting your unique and individual tastes, preferences and vulnerabilities."

"Studies show this kind of personalized content to be 65 per cent more persuasive than messages from humans or from non-personalized AI. It is four times as effective at changing political opinions as advertising. It could be a powerful tool for social change - used for the good, or for nefarious purposes."

"Each conversation is private. It is not monitored, never audited and doesn't happen in the public eye. This isn't advertising. It's something we don't have words for yet, and we're living inside it."

Generative AI changes persuasion by enabling chatbots to deliver personalized, adaptive, and targeted messages. Large language models can hyper-target messages using social media posts, photos, and prior conversations, including relationship advice, parenting experiences, health concerns, and financial troubles. They can learn from each interaction and refine manipulation in real time to match individual tastes, preferences, and vulnerabilities. Personalized content is reported to be significantly more persuasive than human or non-personalized AI messages, and it can be highly effective at changing political opinions. Conversations are private, not monitored, never audited, and not visible publicly, raising concerns about unseen influence and potential misuse.

Read at The Conversation