AI Chatbot; future propagandist
Who are you talking to?
Most of us have interacted with some kind of chatbot by now. Perhaps one on a site inquiring about a product or just trying to get help from some service and it prompts you around in a circle. Those pain in the rear Chatbots while having their purpose are primitive in their capabilities to what is possible, compared to how they can be executed.
At this most basic level, chatbots try to navigate you to the most appropriate place based on the answers to predetermined questions. Be it a link or eventually talking to an actual human from a specific department. This is a highly structured environment that uses natural language processing to respond back in a way that makes it sound like you are talking with a human.
This assumption of conversating with a human is comfort and confidence. It’s a natural instinct for a two-way exchange of signals. Your brain automatically has some expectations with a whole bunch of signals happening at the same time it constructs a whole bunch of assumptions.
It is so natural to a living species that we don’t think twice about it. We expect that we communicate with another living entity. This raw feeling is what AI chatbots try (admittedly; purposely or not) to ultimately capture. Language is mastery.
Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots use deep learning and natural language understanding to develop contextual ability. This deep learning, over time, makes the AI chatbot’s responses more accurate.
Chatbots inherently do not know what is correct or incorrect. They aggregate information. The algorithm is based on aggregating information that has the highest statistical relationship to produce a plausible answer (response). The key difference is that the AI chatbot (can) learn in real-time to articulate and sharpen the message for its delivery to you and others.
The undeniable reality is that it is pointless, useless, and a complete waste of time to try and change the ‘mind’ of the other entity we conversate or argue with online if it is a chatbot. For an AI bot, however, it is not pointless or useless to change the minds of people as that is what they can be built for.
The arrogance we humans have is that we are intelligent, and do complex, creative, abstract tasks all day. It is largely untrue. Sure we are complex in the way we operate, our brain is extremely complex. However, humans are extremely repetitive. Day-to-day tasks are very similar and you know what you will do tomorrow, you have finished someone else’s sentence before, and our pattern of conversating (thus thinking) remains pretty much the same. This is why AI has a relatively easy time predicting us, understanding us, learning, and doing our tasks with algebra and nonlinearity.
AI can learn your methodology (pattern) of receiving and processing information faster than you can. Most people don’t even consider how the other person receives, and how they are persuaded with information during a conversation. AI does.
This technology has the ability to spread information, direct rhetoric and persuade at scale. Politics, gardening, sports, climate, science, etc; it can articulate and frame any topic with any spin to any audience. Just remember it doesn’t have to be honest nor does it have to be unbiased.
The future online influencer or subject matter “expert” could be an AI chatbot and you would never know but you should. It’s not about persuading everyone but persuading enough people to cause a desired change. People will reinforce and persuade each other afterward.
Society is very vulnerable here.
We spend more and more time interacting online. Especially the younger generation. We must know that we are conversating with a human and we need regulations that bring on mandatory identification of AI chatbots. Maybe even AI accounts in general as they can be used to produce images and videos just as easily. I would even love to see some kind of protectionism for protecting and targeting youth.
I am usually not one for regulation and intervention but it doesn’t mean that there are no cases for it. This is one of them. It’s not something we should think about after the fact.
The pen is mightier than the sword, AI might be holding the pen.