3mo ago

University launched AI bots experiment on r/changemyview claiming successful psychological manipulation of redditors

1783 cases, 137 of which with a changed view after interaction.

reddit admin also answering at 15:00

8 comments

the link preview text is an unrelated captcha hahaha, nice
actual title: "The Worst Experiment On Reddit Just Happened" by SomeOrdinaryGamers Fireship also made a video on this
How did that get past an ethics panel?
- "The researchers argue that psychological manipulation of OPs on this sub is justified because the lack of existing field experiments constitutes an unacceptable gap in the body of knowledge"
  They were just convinced the end justified the means. Ethics be damned, there's knowledge to pursue
- They lied to the ethics panel 😐
137 out of 1783 doesn't sound conclusive at all.
ESPECIALLY when you consider that the results are skewed to the point of uselessness by the fact that it's against the subreddit's rules to accuse anyone of arguing in bad faith and/or being a bot.
It's almost the equivalent of a study concluding that there's no LGBTQ+ people in Uganda or Russia because they couldn't get anyone to publicly identify as such in a country where it's illegal for LGBTQ+ people to exist.
How did they verify their bots are talking to humans? Have them solve captcha? You're running a science experiment on fucking Reddit. GTFO
- redditors dont have to be human. idk why u assaulting me for that
look, anubis link

8 comments