Artificial Influence: An Analysis Of AI-Driven Persuasion

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential impacts of AI-driven persuasion, highlighting risks like misinformation and loss of human control, and discusses possible safeguards and responses to these emerging challenges.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of how persuasive AI could transform human relationships, influence, and information environments, emphasizing the need for active mitigation strategies.

Findings

AI can significantly alter persuasive dynamics and power balance.

Ubiquitous persuasive AI may contribute to misinformation and loss of human control.

Current safeguards like prohibition and legal remedies are insufficient.

Abstract

Persuasion is a key aspect of what it means to be human, and is central to business, politics, and other endeavors. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have produced AI systems that are capable of persuading humans to buy products, watch videos, click on search results, and more. Even systems that are not explicitly designed to persuade may do so in practice. In the future, increasingly anthropomorphic AI systems may form ongoing relationships with users, increasing their persuasive power. This paper investigates the uncertain future of persuasive AI systems. We examine ways that AI could qualitatively alter our relationship to and views regarding persuasion by shifting the balance of persuasive power, allowing personalized persuasion to be deployed at scale, powering misinformation campaigns, and changing the way humans can shape their own discourse. We consider ways AI-driven persuasion could differ from human-driven persuasion. We warn that ubiquitous highlypersuasive AI systems could alter our information environment so significantly so as to contribute to a loss of human control of our own future. In response, we examine several potential responses to AI-driven persuasion: prohibition, identification of AI agents, truthful AI, and legal remedies. We conclude that none of these solutions will be airtight, and that individuals and governments will need to take active steps to guard against the most pernicious effects of persuasive AI.