🗳 AI Influences Voters More Effectively Than Political Ads on TV

Chatbots are able to shape voters' political views more powerfully than traditional election advertising, researchers from the United States and Poland have found.

Before the American presidential election in 2024, scientists asked 2300 voters to rate the main candidates—Donald Trump and Kamala Harris—on a scale from 0 to 100 points. The study participants then communicated with chatbots that campaigned to vote for one of the candidates, either convincing the subjects (if they had opposing views) or reinforcing their opinions.

After people communicated with AI, the candidate's rating increased by 2-4 points, whereas traditional campaign advertising has an effect of slightly less than 1 point. Moreover, AI changed the views of the candidate's opponents more than it reinforced the beliefs of supporters.

📈 A similar experiment before the presidential elections in Poland and among voters before the federal elections in Canada showed an even greater effect—their preferences towards the candidates shifted by an average of about 10 points after talking to the chatbot.

In the United States, the influence of AI was weaker due to the entrenched polarization of opinions between supporters of Trump and Kamala Harris, scientists say. Whereas in a less tense situation in other countries or in local elections, the chatbots' influence was more noticeable.

💯 Interestingly, AI models tend to be more persuasive when they focus on facts, not emotions. Chatbots that explained the candidates' political agendas with clear arguments earned far more trust than those that focused on the politicians’ personalities.

@hiaimediaen