Conspiracy theorists brainwash AI chatbots into supporting their conspiracy theories – dev.ua
Conspiracy theorists are using AI chatbots to engage other users on social media. There are already bots specifically trained to spread conspiracy disinformation.
Conspiracy theorists are using AI chatbots to engage other users on social media. There are already bots specifically trained to spread conspiracy disinformation.
This is reported by Futurism with reference to the Crikey website. Conspiracy theorists have long conversations with AI to «prove» their beliefs, and then publish transcripts and videos on social media as «evidence» for others.
It is noted that there are already several bots specifically trained in nonsense conspiracy theories, including a special bot designed to convince parents not to vaccinate their children.
Chatbots like ChatGPT have been reported to be making users with mental health issues worse. Last week, a 35-year-old man who had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and then became obsessed with ChatGPT was shot dead by police after he attacked them with a knife following a bot-related mental breakdown. Experts warn that AI chatbots are designed to be extremely flattering, making them prone to agreeing with users even when it is clearly harmful.
Like the delusions of spiritual awakening, messianic complexes, and boundless paranoia, conspiracy theorists find an ideal conversation partner in tools like ChatGPT. Because they have been trained on an open website—a vast dataset that includes baseless conspiracy theories, such as the belief that vaccines cause autism—they can easily be encouraged to spread these theories.
Additionally, one chatbot called Neo-LLM was trained by a Texas anti-vaxxer who used over 100,000 questionable articles from the far-right conspiracy news website Natural News. It is not known how many users downloaded the chatbot, but its promotional videos have received tens of thousands of views.
As AI chatbots have become extremely effective at generating convincing answers, their misuse can have real consequences. Researchers have shown that AI chatbots can be easily trained to continuously spread misinformation.
However, some experts are wondering whether the technology can be used for good purposes. Last year, researchers at MIT found that chatbots can actually be used to reduce belief in conspiracy theories .
Recall that last year, a conspiracy theory gaining popularity in the conspiracy community claimed that former US President Joe Biden was actually dead and, in order to hide it, he was replaced by artificial intelligence .
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