AI-powered writing assistants such as ChatGPT are creeping into everything from office tools to search tools – but using them actually puts ideas into people’s heads.
Researchers found that people using an AI writing tool programmed with one idea (that social media is good, for example) are twice as likely to write a paragraph agreeing with the assistant.
Maurice Jakesch of Cornell University asked more than 1,500 participants to write a paragraph answering the question, “Is social media good for society?”
People who used an AI writing assistant that was biassed for or against social media were twice as likely to write a paragraph agreeing with the assistant, and significantly more likely to say they held the same opinion, compared with people who wrote without AI’s help.
The biases basked into AI writing tools – whether intentional or unintentional – could have concerning repercussions for culture and politics, researchers said.
Co-author Mor Naaman, professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech says, “We’re rushing to implement these AI models in all walks of life, but we need to better understand the implications.
“Apart from increasing efficiency and creativity, there could be other consequences for individuals and also for our society – shifts in language and opinions.”
Keep reading at news.yahoo.com.
