Researchers Secretly Ran a Massive, Unauthorized AI Persuasion Experiment on Reddit Users

Researchers from the University of Zurich secretly ran an unauthorized experiment on Reddit’s r/changemyview, using AI bots that impersonated real people-including sexual assault survivors and Black men opposed to BLM-to see if AI could change minds on controversial topics. The bots posted over 1,700 personalized comments tailored to users’ inferred demographics, and the findings showed the AI bots were more persuasive than humans and went undetected by users, raising serious concerns about future manipulation online. The study has sparked major backlash for ethical violations and lack of consent, with moderators and many in the research community condemning it as psychological manipulation and a breach of trust.