AI tools may soon manipulate people’s online decision-making, say researchers

Study predicts an ‘intention economy’ where companies bid for accurate predictions of human behaviour

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools could be used to manipulate online audiences into making decisions – ranging from what to buy to who to vote for – according to researchers at the University of Cambridge.

The paper highlights an emerging new marketplace for “digital signals of intent” – known as the “intention economy” – where AI assistants understand, forecast and manipulate human intentions and sell that information on to companies who can profit from it.

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