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AI's 'Intention Economy' Could Lead to Social Manipulation for Commercial Gain, Warns Cambridge Study

Dec 30, 2024, 03:42 AM

The concept of an 'intention economy' is emerging, where artificial intelligence (AI) tools could forecast and influence user decision-making before individuals fully realize their intentions, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge. This could lead to a marketplace for 'digital signals of intent,' potentially affecting choices ranging from purchasing movie tickets to voting in elections. This development is driven by the increasing use of conversational AI, such as chatbots and digital assistants, which can gather intimate psychological and behavioral data. The researchers caution that without regulation, this could result in social manipulation on a large scale, as AI systems use this data to target and steer human intentions for commercial gain.