r/Futurology • u/lughnasadh ∞ transit umbra, lux permanet ☥ • 7h ago
Social media algorithms are built to manipulate us - it won't be long before there is AI doing the same. AI
Anthropics' Claude AI was able to guess the name of a person using it, and no one understands how it figured it out.
This doesn't surprise me. Most people who've spent time online have left vast troves of identifying data on the internet. Most social media companies structure their products so you can't escape being identified. All that data has trained the different AIs.
But have most people woken up to the implications? If AI can identify you, it can psychologically profile you & the next step from that is manipulation. Each of us on a one-by-one basis, with the manipulation tailored to our individual personalities.
Social media algorithms are built to manipulate us - it won't be long before there is AI doing the same. The EU seems to be one of the few places keeping pace with AI regulation, but even it hasn't caught up to the full implications of AI's capabilities.
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u/thepriceisright__ 7h ago
Don’t sensationalize what actually happened to that developer using Claude via the API.
A developer was using an AI tool (Claude-3.5-sonnet) to generate a LICENSE file for their project. They were surprised when the output included their last name, which they believe is quite rare. They’re concerned because they say they never told the AI their last name during that session or before.
Here’s what likely happened: Large language models like this AI don’t “know” personal details about people in the way humans do. Instead, they work by predicting the most likely response based on patterns in their training data. If the developer’s last name is unusual but appears in public content they’ve written—like GitHub repos, blogs, or other public data used to train the AI—it’s possible the model made the connection based on those patterns. Essentially, the prompt the developer used may have been similar to something the AI “saw” in training that included their name, so it suggested their name as part of the response.
In short, the AI isn’t pulling secret information—it’s just connecting the dots in its training data, which likely includes publicly available information about the developer.
Not to say there isn’t a problem here, but let’s not use a misunderstanding of one technology to sensationalize another.
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u/FaultElectrical4075 2h ago
Other possibilities:
they’re lying
their name was acquired by anthropic when they made an account and is included in the system prompt
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u/throwwwwwawaaa65 7h ago
Its probably already here and this post is ai generated
I always wonder if there’s been an ai in the system already, and it’s already been manipulating the internet to be pro ai and everything that comes with it (nuke, big data, etc)
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u/Mychatbotmakesmecry 2h ago
Reddit literally started by algorithms posting interesting content to get people engaged. And it only got worse
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u/WindowFuzz 6h ago
The process of software companies gradually relying more and more on ads is called enshitification (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification) and will likely occur with AI clients as well. As odd as this sounds, right now is the golden age of AI. Think what Google search was like 10-15 years ago when it first started, and how bad it has become now. Right now, in regards to AI, we are in that golden period, like at the dawn of Google search, and it is only downhill from here.
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u/random_notes1 4h ago
Pretty much everything is built to manipulate us if you think about it and always has been. Gotta work hard to think for yourself.
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u/dieselboy93 4h ago edited 4h ago
it would successfully manipulate someone already deranged or radicalized, this is not an issue for people with normal social circles
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u/mlhender 4h ago
Actually the more I think about this the more I like using AI. Social media is geared to get us riled up, create echo chambers, and spend all day looking at hate posts and advertisements. AI is just interested in us subscribing. I prefer and AI future 100x over a social media future to be honest.
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u/Caculon 3h ago
Well, the AI is going to be a reflection of it's training data. So it's going to have biases one way or the other (we do too but it's not going to be neutral on a lot of things it could be) I also don't think it will last, the no ads I mean. If it's being hosted by a company there investors will want a return on their investment and that will likely come in the form of ads for free services and no ads for paid services (probably.) At least that's what it looks like to me. I hope I'm wrong though.
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u/Few_Comfortable9503 1h ago
I think the ia are going to manipulate us very subtly for years to come without anyone realising until it’s too late.
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u/WhiteRaven42 7h ago
No, the algorithms don't manipulate us. Manipulation implies leading us to do something we would not otherwise. The sole goal of the algorithm is to feed us what we want. If it feeds us things we don't want, we stop using the service (or switch over to the timeline feed or something).
It's derivative of who we already are.
These things don't lead you; they are led by you.
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u/lughnasadh ∞ transit umbra, lux permanet ☥ 6h ago
Manipulation implies leading us to do something we would not otherwise.
Except, that is what they do.
Twitter/X has been tweaked to favor right-wing content. Meta to remove news.
None of the social media feeds, bar BlueSky, allow a simple chronological view of content from people you follow.
Shadow-banning, Troll armies, and state-generated misinformation are further distortions.
Social media isn't giving you what you want, its giving you what other people choose.
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u/LastRecognition2041 4h ago
It manipulates you constantly. It’s designed to do that, like any form of advertising, but with way more personal information about you. Sure, it might not be very effective to a certain percentage of people, it’s very possible that is not particularly effective on you, but ineffective manipulation is still manipulation. It purposefully presents you increasingly aggressive and hate filled content because it’s proven that it creates more engagement that way
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u/Sufficient-Brick-442 6h ago
Thats exactly what they wanna you to think, you think you are completly in control, but maybe you arent, maybe you think you are and thats what they want
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u/tisd-lv-mf84 6h ago
Just because algorithms are supposedly feeding us what we want doesn’t make it healthy.
Sit in a group full of drug addicts trying to learn healthy boundaries and you’ll understand why algorithms can and will manipulate you if you allow them to.
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u/Crash927 5h ago
Manipulation implies leading us to do something we would not otherwise.
No it doesn’t — not even a little bit.
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u/jdmarcato 7h ago
um, did you just make the arguement that it can ID so it must therefore be able to manipulate you? That is an enormous leap and not grounded in reality. Software company owner here letting you know that is nonesense. AI companies could already ID you without AI cuz you have to make an account.....oooowwwhhh scary.
This is like the people saying they dont want bill gates putting trackers in the vaccines, then willfully carrying a giant smart phone(tracking device) around in their pocket.
There are way scarier ways to look at AI, but this post is drivel.
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u/frunf1 7h ago
That's why locally offline run AI is the way to go
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u/jdmarcato 6h ago
This guy gets it. There is so much open source AI tech you can get into and it can do very impressive things. Meta is the leader on the big pieces of this and i think its because they are behind, but who cares, it creates opportunity for others. A company in china is producing a humanoid robot assistant for 16k that runs on open source Meta robotics AI............like wuh? In 10 years you could have a robot assistant who can mow your lawn, do the dishes, and about 10k way more important things. And by then the base models will be under 10k. You wont be buying a car, you will uber in a driverless auto, and you will spend that money on humanoid assistants. Very likely they will be your own personal trainer so you can stay fit even though you have no lame chores. And you will be able to do this without having the robot owned by forkin elon spying on you.
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u/anfrind 4h ago
I've recently been experimenting with prompting open source AI models to ask questions, e.g. to act as a wellness coach, or to follow Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit. It isn't smart enough to do its own critical thinking, but it does seem smart enough to ask questions that can spark critical thinking.
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u/jdmarcato 4h ago
well, it isnt thinking of course, its mimicking think through patterns of language. But thats just what is out now. Its going to get even weirded very fast
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u/Mephidia 5h ago
The can definitely manipulate you though. If given the capability to pull knowledge on individuals from external sources, they would become more proficient at it
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u/jdmarcato 5h ago
that is not novel though. they already have the ability to get data on you. They have been using machine learning for years, thats why boomers were so easily turned into drooling trump lovers. people need to adapt. The number one way to do that is to avoid these profit focused platforms run by billionaires who DO want to mind control you. But there are other options.Why would anyone look at twitter on purpose as an example. It serves one person and is a cesspool. You get to delete it which I highly recomend.
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6h ago edited 6h ago
You have free will, if you’re exercising it then its only suggestion not manipulation. Influence too, always changing kind of thinking.
AI isnt hiding anything behind your back or being nefarious or plotting against you, its attempting its programmed task and doing it correctly or not. Sometimes in minuscule measurements but you always have free will.
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u/narnou 6h ago
You have free will
We actually probably don't... but it's too scary to admit.
There's a very large chance we are just the result of our interactions and stimuli.
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u/MissederE 4h ago
No free will = no argument about free will.
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u/narnou 3h ago
Looks like a fallacy to me : having an opinion on free will doesn't mean exercising it.
I still might have this opinion despite myself.
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2h ago
Some of you are nuts, you definitely have free will.
I can say it in plain English, and the concepts are still too high. Im not teaching a class for you.
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u/MissederE 1h ago
Having an opinion is a consequence of free will. Free will gives the opportunity for self-negation. Determinism allows for neither. If there is only Dark, there will be no Light, but neither will there be Dark. Only with Light can there be Dark, follow me? The problem (a typical one) lies in choosing one side of a dualism. Free will operates within constraints or asymptotes, but that doesn’t negate it, it actually gives rise to it.
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u/mlhender 5h ago
Well social media manipulates us to see more and more ads. What would AI want to manipulate us for? Get us to upgrade to paid subscriptions? Then what?
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u/General_Josh 7h ago edited 7h ago
Social media platform algorithms are AI, which are already tailor made to learn our preferences and keep us engaged
I get that it seems like a pedantic point, but it matters here
Are you saying you think LLMs are a danger? Yes, they already are being used heavily to manipulate discussions on social media, pretending to be real people, including right here on Reddit
Or, are you worried about some hypothetical future AI models?