LONDON: Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tools could soon “covertly influence” consumer decision-making in a new business frontier.Economy of intention“, researchers from the University of Cambridge warned in a paper published on Monday.
The research argues that a potentially “lucrative but disruptive” market emerges for “digital signals of intent” that could, in the near future, affect everything from buying movie tickets to voting for political candidates. .
Our growing familiarity with chatbots, digital tutors and other so-called “anthropomorphic” AI agents is helping to enable this new trend.Persuasive Technologies“, he added.
It will combine AI’s knowledge of our online habits with an increased ability to get to know the user and anticipate their desires, creating “new levels of trust and understanding,” the paper’s two co-authors noted. .
If left unchecked, it may allow “Social manipulation on an industrial scale,” the pair from Cambridge’s Leverholm Center for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) argued in a paper published in the Harvard Data Science Review.
It characterizes how this emerging field — dubbed the “intention economy” — will profile consumers’ attention and interaction patterns and inform them of their behaviors and choices. Will connect with samples.
“AI tools are already being developed to extract, infer, collect, record, understand, predict, and ultimately manipulate and commodify human plans and intentions,” said co-author Yaqub Chaudhry. are being prepared for.”
The new AI will rely on so-called Major language models According to research — or LLMs — to target user cadence, politics, vocabulary, age, gender, online history, and even flattery and integration preferences.
It will be linked to other emerging AI tech that bids to achieve a specific goal, such as selling a trip to the cinema, or directing conversations towards specific platforms, advertisers, businesses and even political organisations. carry forward
Co-author Jonny Penn warned: “Unless regulated, the intention economy will treat your motivations as the new currency.”
“It will be a gold rush for those who target, promote and sell human intentions,” he added.
“Before we succumb to its unintended consequences, we must begin to consider the potential impact of such a marketplace on human aspirations, including free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition. “
Penn noted that public awareness of the issue is “the key to making sure we don’t go down the wrong path”.