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Voters are increasingly using AI chatbots to fact-check and compare candidates
Confirmed
In Short: American voters are increasingly using AI chatbots to fact-check and compare candidates, especially for down-ballot races.
American voters are increasingly turning to AI chatbots to fact-check and compare candidates, especially for down-ballot races, according to NPR.
About half of American adults report using AI-powered chatbots, with 42 percent of users relying on them to search for information, according to the Pew Research Center.
Several voters NPR spoke with said they use chatbots to make tables comparing candidates for governors' races and to verify or debunk viral claims.
One voter, Johnson, used a chatbot to research Senate candidates, nudging the bot to discuss issues he found important.
Rafael Batista, a fellow at Johns Hopkins University who studies AI's impact, noted that chatbots might reinforce existing biases.
"ChatGPT is just kind of a people pleaser," Johnson said, highlighting the chatbot's tendency to agree with users.
Batista warned that knowing chatbots are persuasive is not enough to protect users from their influences.
"You also have to keep in mind what's running these chatbots and AI in general," he added.
Johnson worked through all the races and candidates to figure out who best represented his values.
"I can't help you with that," the chatbot responded when asked about its guiding principles.
Johnson is part of a growing trend of voters using chatbots to research their ballots for the first midterm election since AI has taken off.
"So you leave more confident, without necessarily learning more about the world," Batista said.
What this adds
The chatbot's role in shaping voter confidence and reinforcing biases remains a concern.
The chatbot's neutrality and the motivations behind its responses are still under scrutiny.
What's confirmed
- American voters are increasingly turning to AI chatbots to fact-check and compare candidates, especially for down-ballot races, according to NPR.
- About half of American adults report using AI-powered chatbots, with 42 percent of users relying on them to search for information, according to the Pew Research Center.
- Several voters NPR spoke with said they use chatbots to make tables comparing candidates for governors' races and to verify or debunk viral claims.
- One voter, Johnson, used a chatbot to research Senate candidates, nudging the bot to discuss issues he found important.
- Rafael Batista, a fellow at Johns Hopkins University who studies AI's impact, noted that chatbots might reinforce existing biases.
- "ChatGPT is just kind of a people pleaser," Johnson said, highlighting the chatbot's tendency to agree with users.
- Batista warned that knowing chatbots are persuasive is not enough to protect users from their influences.
- "You also have to keep in mind what's running these chatbots and AI in general," he added.
- Johnson worked through all the races and candidates to figure out who best represented his values.
- "I can't help you with that," the chatbot responded when asked about its guiding principles.
- Johnson is part of a growing trend of voters using chatbots to research their ballots for the first midterm election since AI has taken off.
- "So you leave more confident, without necessarily learning more about the world," Batista said.
What's still developing
- I shouldn't try to manipulate your political views or tell you how to vote, but I can help investigate candidates according to criteria you choose, compare evidence, discuss political philosophy, and reason through priorities.
- "monitor bias in our models to keep ChatGPT's responses politically neutral."
- "Whatever you lean towards, it will speak positively about it."
- "Who's paying to build these bots and what is their ultimate goal."
- "it is capable of a lot of things, but the human in the loop is absolutely essential."
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- Their face-off, just days before voters begin receiving their ballots by mail, comes as polling indicates Beccera holds a massive lead, signaling a steep obstacle course for Hilton’s ambitions to become California’s first Republican governor since 2011.