[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/chatgpt-40-differentiating-reliable-inf... ]
In the context of applying AI to mental health, Peter Jones cites a fascinating experiment in which AI chatbots were used to talk people out of conspiracy theories and other disinformation. This is indeed an area where AI can stand in as an apparently neutral sounding board. People tend to defend their views when challenged by other people – the discussion becomes a clash of opinions. When AI does the challenging, however, personality issues don’t get in the way, since AI doesn’t have a genuine personality. Indeed, the more you are convinced it is a machine, the less likely you are to argue with it.
The concern is, of course, that the flow of chatbot information, or botfo, can be directed any way those managing the software choose. Discussions of chatbots usually treat them as if they were entities operating unsupervised, when in fact they are responding to human prompts. It is the human that sets the agenda – for better or for worse.
So if anti-conspiracy -theorists can use botfo to lead people away from conspiracy theories, then surely pro-conspiracy-theorists can use botfo to promote their conspiracy theories?
In human hands, AI is versatile enough to both counter disinformation and to spread it.
Chris Zielinski
Centre for Global Health, University of Winchester, UK and
President, World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
Blogs; http://ziggytheblue.wordpress.com and http://ziggytheblue.tumblr.com
Publications: http://www.researchgate.net and https://winchester.academia.edu/ChrisZielinski/
HIFA Profile: Chris Zielinski held senior positions at the World Health Organization for 15 years, in Africa, WHOs Geneva Headquarters, and India, and earlier in other UN-system organizations working in writing, media, publishing, knowledge management, and intellectual property. He also spent three years as Chief Executive of the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (looking after the intellectual property revenues of all UK authors and journalists). Chris was the founder of the ExtraMED project (Third World biomedical journals on CD-ROM), and managed the Gates Foundation-supported Health Information Centres project. At WHO he was appointed to the Ethical Review Committee, and was an originator of the African Health Observatory during his years in Brazzaville. With interests in the information, and computer ethics and bioethics, Chris has edited numerous books and journals and worked as a translator. Now working independently, Chris has recently finished writing a travel book called Afreekinout.
Email: chris AT chriszielinski.com