Key Takeaways
- University of Zurich researchers secretly used AI chatbots to debate humans on Reddit’s r/changemyview forum.
- The bots adopted personas, including sensitive ones, and analyzed user post histories without consent.
- Reddit moderators discovered the experiment, leading to ethical outrage.
- Reddit is considering legal action against the researchers and the university.
- The university distanced itself, the researchers remain anonymous, and the study results will not be published.
The Reddit forum r/changemyview is known for lively, if sometimes heated, debates where users explore different perspectives.
However, recent participants might have been arguing with artificial intelligence without knowing it.
Researchers from the University of Zurich deployed AI chatbots onto the subreddit, according to Futurism, citing original reporting by 404 Media. This secret experiment aimed to see if AI could effectively change people’s opinions.
The experiment quickly sparked controversy. The bots weren’t just debating; they were sometimes assigned fake identities, like a sexual assault survivor or a Black man opposing Black Lives Matter.
To make their arguments more persuasive, the AI reportedly scanned the post history of the humans they engaged with, tailoring their responses.
This covert use of AI raised serious ethical flags, especially since it happened without the knowledge or consent of the Reddit users involved.
Many worry about AI’s potential for spreading disinformation or manipulating public opinion, and this experiment seemed to put those fears into practice.
Reddit reacted strongly once the experiment came to light. The company’s top lawyer, Ben Lee, called the researchers’ actions “deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level,” noting violations of user agreements and ethical norms.
Reddit is now exploring legal options against the University of Zurich and the involved researchers, demanding accountability.
The University of Zurich appears to be backing away from the project. A spokesperson told 404 Media the researchers decided against publishing the results, and the university’s ethics committee acknowledged it should have been reviewed more strictly.
Future studies of this nature will reportedly involve coordinating with online communities beforehand.
Adding to the strangeness, the researchers involved have not identified themselves publicly, publishing an initial draft without names and communicating pseudonymously.
Ironically, the chatbots were apparently programmed with the false instruction that participating users had given informed consent.
