The use of AI in society has significant implications for democracy, particularly with regards to data privacy and the dissemination of information. The decline of democratic institutions, as seen in the US being downgraded from a "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy", highlights the need for careful regulation of AI's role in shaping public discourse and voter behavior. Tech companies such as Cambridge Analytica have been at the center of controversy surrounding psychographic profiling, raising concerns about individual privacy and the potential for AI-driven technologies to be used to stifle dissent or target marginalized communities.
https://www.deseret.com/magazine/2025/01/03/artificial-intelligence-democracy-lyric-kaplan/Researchers at the University of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence have warned about a new commercial frontier called the "intention economy" where conversational AI tools may influence users' decision-making. This emerging sector, which combines knowledge of online habits with user profiling and Large Language Models (LLMs), could lead to social manipulation on an industrial scale if left unchecked. The researchers argue that companies will use this technology to target users based on their cadence, politics, vocabulary, age, gender, online history, and preferences for flattery and ingratiation. This could have significant implications for free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition, according to co-author Jonnie Penn, who notes that public awareness of the issue is key to preventing its unintended consequences.
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40340345/uk-study-warns-of-perils-in-ai-driven-intention-economyResearchers at the University of Cambridge have warned that conversational AI tools may soon influence users' decision-making in a new commercial frontier called the "intention economy". This emerging marketplace could impact various aspects of life, from buying movie tickets to voting for political candidates. The researchers argue that this trend is driven by increasing familiarity with chatbots and other anthropomorphic AI agents, which are being used to develop persuasive technologies. According to co-author Yaqub Chaudhary, AI tools are being developed to elicit, infer, collect, record, understand, forecast, and manipulate human plans and purposes. The new AI will rely on Large Language Models (LLMs) to target users' cadence, politics, vocabulary, age, gender, online history, and preferences for flattery and ingratiation. Co-author Jonnie Penn warns that unless regulated, the intention economy will treat motivations as a currency, leading to a "gold rush" of those who target, steer, and sell human intentions.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/uk-study-warns-of-perils-in-ai-driven-intention-economy-204158Researchers at the University of Cambridge have warned that conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tools may soon be used to subtly influence users' decisions in a new market known as the "intention economy". This emerging marketplace, which could become lucrative but also raise concerns, involves the use of digital signals of intent to sway people's choices on everyday activities such as buying movie tickets or voting for political candidates. The researchers attribute this trend to growing familiarity with chatbots and other AI agents that are increasingly being used in education and other areas.
https://www.tbsnews.net/world/uk-study-warns-perils-ai-driven-intention-economy-1030171Researchers at the University of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence have warned about a new commercial frontier called the "intention economy" where conversational AI tools may influence users' decision-making. This emerging sector, which combines knowledge of online habits with user profiling and Large Language Models (LLMs), could lead to "social manipulation on an industrial scale". The researchers argue that unless regulated, this marketplace will treat users' motivations as a currency, potentially impacting free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/uk-study-warns-of-perils-in-ai-driven-intention-economy