Not Russia or China but just an AI experiment carried out by the Swiss University of Zurich caused unrest on social media. And this is only the beginning.
The university came under scrutiny after it was disclosed they let AI driven chatbots unauthorized participated and indoctrinated users on the Reddit social media “ChangeMyView” platform to alter opinions on hot-button topics.
Reddit now considers legal action against the institute that declared the study was to test how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to influence opinions.
The experiment involved AI chatbots operating under false identities posing as regular users and often engaging in discussions on controversial issues.
The bots, whose accounts have been terminated, posted over 1,700 comments across the subreddit.
With fake identities such as a male rape victim downplaying the trauma of his assault, a Black man opposing the Black Lives Matter movement, and a domestic trauma counselor claiming the most vulnerable women were those “sheltered by overprotective parents”
Another bot operated to scan user profiles and deliver personalized arguments in response.
The researchers freely disclosed the unauthorized experiment to subreddit moderators several months after it had taken place, calling it “a disclosure step in the study”
Reddit recently changed the terms and conditions. The use of undisclosed AI-generated content or bots is now strictly prohibited.
The researchers defend that the study had been guided by principles of “ethical” research and transparency. The university ethics committee said that the research caused little harm.
That does not wipe out that Reddit platform users reacted with disbelieve and anger over being unknowingly experimented on.
This reported incident is only the beginning.
It is only a matter of time when AI will turn the internet into hell. On going cyber attacks and theft of ID document data at banks, health care providers and governments will make it for criminals with the help of AI easy to achieve nasty things. This soon will be led to an out of control situation comparable with all out war and destruction.
Bear in mind that AI is fed with data provided by humans. If this data is deliberate wrong, AI produces wrong results. The current AI systems lack consciousness. I believe consciousness is vital for next generation real AI.