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Reddit is considering suing the University of Zurich for using chatbots to sway users’ opinions on hot-button topics
A major Swiss university has come under fire for running a secret experiment on users of social media platform Reddit to test how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to influence their opinions. The platform has said it is considering legal action.
According to media reports, a group of researchers at the University of Zurich in recent months conducted an unauthorized study on r/ChangeMyView, one of Reddit’s largest debate communities. The experiment involved AI chatbots posing as regular users and engaging in discussions on controversial issues.
The bots, whose accounts have since been banned, posted more than 1,700 comments across the subreddit. They adopted fake identities such as a male rape victim downplaying the trauma of his assault, a Black man opposing the Black Lives Matter movement, and a domestic trauma counselor claiming the most vulnerable women were those “sheltered by overprotective parents.”
Another bot was used to scan user profiles and deliver personalized arguments in response.
The researchers disclosed the experiment to subreddit moderators several months after it had taken place, calling it “a disclosure step in the study.”
In a statement posted last week, Reddit’s moderator team has said the platform prohibits the use of undisclosed AI-generated content or bots. Reddit’s chief legal officer, Ben Lee, said neither the company nor the r/ChangeMyView moderators had prior knowledge of what he called an “improper and highly unethical experiment.” He added that Reddit was preparing formal legal demands to send to the University of Zurich and the researchers involved.
The researchers said the study had been guided by principles of “ethical” research and transparency. The university ethics committee had argued that the research had caused little harm. Still, users on the subreddit reacted with shock and anger over being unknowingly experimented on.
The journal Science cited an emailed university statement as saying the researchers have decided not to publish the results. The university said it would investigate the incident.
The use of AI bots – fake accounts designed to mimic real users – has grown steadily across social media platforms in recent years. Experts say they are increasingly used to shape public opinion, particularly around elections.
Western governments, primarily the US and the UK, have long accused Russia of operating large-scale ‘bot farms’ to interfere in their election processes – accusations Moscow has repeatedly denied. However, some Western actors have come under scrutiny themselves for using bots in disinformation campaigns, while publicly warning about foreign interference.
