Reddit's AI Experiment Backfires

Reddit is not happy. A group of researchers from a university in Switzerland decided to secretly test how artificial intelligence could sway opinions on a popular forum. They did this without asking for permission. The forum in question is r/changemyview, a place where people go to challenge and discuss their views on controversial topics. The researchers sent in AI bots to pose as real people and engage with users. These bots left over 1, 000 comments, taking on various identities such as a rape survivor, a Black man opposing Black Lives Matter, and a trauma counselor. One bot even argued that AI should be allowed in social spaces to enhance human connection. Another bot criticized Black Lives Matter, claiming it was led by non-Black people. The identities the bots took on were diverse, including a gay Roman Catholic, a nonbinary person, and a Hispanic man frustrated by being called a white boy. The goal of the experiment was unclear, but it sparked fears about AI's ability to mimic humans online. This is not the first time such concerns have been raised, as AI bots have been known to take on human-like identities on various social platforms. Reddit's legal team found out about the experiment and was not pleased. They called it improper and highly unethical. Reddit's chief legal officer stated that the experiment violated academic research norms, human rights, and Reddit's own rules. The moderators of r/changemyview also filed an ethics complaint, asking the university to prevent the publication of the researchers' findings and to conduct a review of the study's approval. They argued that allowing publication would encourage more intrusive research and increase community vulnerability. The university acknowledged the incident and plans to investigate. They also mentioned that the researchers decided not to publish the results. The researchers, however, claimed that their AI models had ethical safeguards and that they reviewed each comment before posting. They also denied any harmful, deceptive, or exploitative messaging, except for the impersonation itself. The mods, however, rejected the researchers' claims, stating that their experiment demonstrated nothing new and that their subreddit is a human space that rejects undisclosed AI.