Key Takeaways
- Researchers from the University of Zurich secretly used AI-generated comments in Reddit’s popular r/changemyview forum.
- The unauthorized experiment aimed to test how effectively AI could persuade people and change their views.
- AI bots used various fake personas, sometimes tailored using other users’ posting histories.
- Reddit moderators called the study “psychological manipulation” and a violation of subreddit rules.
- Reddit banned associated accounts, expressed outrage, and is considering legal action.
- The university stated its ethics committee advised compliance with platform rules and plans stricter reviews; the researchers will not publish their findings.
Researchers sparked controversy after secretly running an experiment using AI-generated comments on Reddit’s r/changemyview community.
Moderators of the popular forum, where users debate opinions, revealed the unauthorized study over the weekend. They described it as “psychological manipulation” of unsuspecting members.
According to a detailed post from the moderators, researchers from the University of Zurich deployed AI comments to study how artificial intelligence could influence people’s viewpoints. The community boasts 3.8 million members and frequently features debate on sensitive topics.
The AI reportedly adopted various fake identities, including pretending to be a sexual assault survivor and a Black man opposing Black Lives Matter. Some comments, though many were deleted, remain visible in online archives.
The researchers admitted in a draft paper that they used large language models (LLMs) not just to create comments but also to personalize them. They attempted to infer users’ gender, age, ethnicity, location, and politics from their past posts to tailor the AI’s replies.
The r/changemyview moderators stated this clearly violated their rules, which require disclosure of AI use and prohibit bots. They have filed a complaint with the University of Zurich and asked the researchers not to publish their paper.
Reddit itself is taking action. Chief Legal Officer Ben Lee called the experiment “deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level” and a violation of site rules. He confirmed Reddit banned accounts linked to the research and is strengthening its detection of fake content.
Reddit is also contacting the University of Zurich and the researchers with “formal legal demands,” aiming to hold them accountable, according to Engadget.
The researchers claimed their study received university ethics approval and could help platforms defend against malicious AI use, like election manipulation. They acknowledged the intrusion but argued the potential benefits outweighed the risks.
A University of Zurich spokesperson mentioned their ethics committee had advised researchers to follow platform rules, though these recommendations aren’t legally binding. The university plans a “stricter” review process for future studies and confirmed the researchers have independently decided not to publish their results.
The subreddit moderators pushed back against the idea that the research was necessary, noting others have studied the community’s data without experimenting directly on users. “People do not come here to discuss their views with AI or to be experimented upon,” they wrote, emphasizing members deserve a space free from such intrusions.
