this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2025
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Scientists are raising alarms about the potential influence of artificial intelligence on elections, according to a spate of new studies that warn AI can rig polls and manipulate public opinion.

In a study published in Nature on Thursday, scientists report that AI chatbots can meaningfully sway people toward a particular candidate—providing better results than video or television ads. Moreover, chatbots optimized for political persuasion “may increasingly deploy misleading or false information,” according to a separate study published on Thursday in Science.

Archive: http://archive.today/9Jq17

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[–] finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 44 points 3 days ago

Will? Already have.

[–] db2@lemmy.world 48 points 3 days ago (3 children)
[–] Hamartia@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago
[–] marx@piefed.social 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

High-quality studies take time. Yes there's a lag, but doing the science is still super super important. Kind of get tired of this dismissive response every time a study gets published about a hot topic. Yes, we maybe 'knew' this, but sometimes we 'know' things and turn out to be partially or entirely wrong, or previously unknown factors are uncovered. If we want to truly understand a phenomenon it's maybe best not to act like studying it is a waste of time.

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago

There are other nations too

[–] phonics@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago

Isnt that the whole point of AI?

[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago

You telling me those images of Trump swimming through flood waters to save people in a hurricane haven't already swayed voters? Lol

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 2 days ago

AI wont change much. Most people already dont inform themselfs and dont vote based on the partys/peoples records, standings, goals and what is best for everyone. They mostly vote on feelings, what they have always voted, or "to show them".

They cant even remember more than what happend 6 days ago.

Example:

Germany. Since schmidt got backstabbed by his party the conservatives took over, who ofc didnt do anything to improve the nation. No investments but took the money that was supposed to go into investments like germany wide glas fiber cable into his friends from variouse lobbys in this case copper cables for TV. Reunification just fell into Kohls lap, the government gutted the new eastern states of all its industry, wealth and prosperity. They ruled for 16 years. Then the country voted for Schröder the old russian puppet because he drank beer with people and "seemed like a decent man with whom you can have a drink with". He with his neo-liberal approach did quite the damage to the social system and his tax increases and the jobmarket problems killed him. Then 16 years conservative Merkel rule where nothing happened. And so much corruption its crazy! But people got MAD at the Scholz Administration for actually wanting to change thing for the better. "THE GREEEEEEENS! ENVIORMENTAL FRiendly reeee!!" And so, they voted in, THE FUCKING CONSERVATIVES WITH A BLACKROCK LOBBYIST CHANCELOR CANDIDAT WHO IS LOVEY DOVEY WITH THE FASCISTS AND NAZIS OF THE AFD! And who even while campagning told everyone that his government will be packed full of the most corrupt ministers of the merkel administrations just in different ministrys, and litteral lobbyists! And still 25% of germans think that the litteral russian puppets, who are proven to be lead by fascist Bernd Höcke, employing russian and chinese spies, who throw out nazi slogans and speech like an "amen" in the church, who litteraly write that they'll undo all social systems and lower the tax of the rich, plus want to leave the EU which would cripple germany in a few years harder than it did the UK, would fix it all...by deporting people. Be it german potatoes, imigrants, refugees, germans with migrant family background. The AfD wants to deport them all

People are fucking idiots. But as a wise old person once said:

"Democracy is for the people, by the people. But the people are retarded"

[–] notsure@fedia.io 14 points 3 days ago

...i think i should be more worried about the 'guardrails' that have been obliterated...

[–] rayyy@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago

Add AI bullshit to the usual election lies and dirty tricks.
Food prices are soaring - maybe AI can figure out how to convince the people that they aren't starving.

[–] count_dongulus@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If all you do is read the little statements booklet they send out, and then do the mail vote based on that, then AI is not in the loop unless the candidate is dumb enough to paste chatbot output into their statement.

Seriously people, get your friends and family off of the ragebait rectangle. Most "news" media today is just opinion wrapped with ads about content they bought from Reuters and AP.

[–] seathru@quokk.au 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If all you do is read the little statements booklet they send out, and then do the mail vote based on that,

... then you are no better informed than Bob, who is voting for the guy his pastor told him to. People should personally vet any candidate they are voting on. AI will make that more and more difficult moving forward.

[–] count_dongulus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Well my approach is:

  • Mark off every candidate who did not bother to provide a statement
  • Mark off every candidate with no listed volunteering experience in the little section for it
  • Mark off every candidate whose statement claims they will do things their desired office is not empowered to do
  • Mark off every candidate with a platform that doesn't claim to be aiming for any kind of change or improvement in particular. (I don't support chair warmers.)
  • Mark off every candidate whose email is a personal one listed as itsyaboymrthiccpenis@yahoo.com or something else similarly unprofessional
  • Mark off any candidate aligned with the party that supported the coup attempt in 2021

After this quick pass, which only takes a couple of minutes, I'm typically only left with two or three offices with more than one remaining choice to compare. I then read their platform and pick the candidate with the platform goal that seems most relevant to my or my community's interest.

[–] Turret3857@infosec.pub 2 points 2 days ago

I'd love to get my family off the disinformation train, but when they've come to believe Facebook Sora slop more than their own flesh and blood it becomes easier to stop giving a shit and just hope they get fucked over by what they're voting for, rather than even attempt to play psychologist and figure out what stupid way to word something so it sticks in their thick god damn skulls.

CNN and CNBC recently made a deal with a gambling service (Kalishi) to start using bets as glorified polling data. We are so fucked honestly but I try to keep my sanity everyday.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago

What "will"? They and asocial media didn't have already?

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

It already helped to sway the Slovakian elections, and arguably the US elections too.

[–] Bakkoda@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

AI doesn't do anything. People use AI to [insert the action every hack rag of stain that gets posted] .

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Been doing that for years. Unless you think everyone got magically more fascist out of nothing.

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

Of course, material conditions have nothing to do with what beliefs people arrive at or what movements spring up, no, it's entirely 1) AI, before it existed, or 2) magic.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

dint it already last election, it was all up in YOUTUBE just before the elections. which Youtube has made anofficial statement, they wont take down election denial(also extends to any form of propaganda from the right about politics)

AI that's already being used by Russia and China to sway the stupid people of Western nations already?

So AI slop doesn't get generated, just imagine the visual of the Egyptologist from The Mummy holding a GPU, saying, "What have we done?", while covered in dickflies.