Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 385; no. 6714; p. eadq1814
• Main Authors: Costello, Thomas H., Pennycook, Gordon, Rand, David G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 13.09.2024
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Behavioral Science Research; Behavioral Sciences; Beliefs; Conspiracy; COVID-19; Customization; Democracy; Elections; Evidence; Generative artificial intelligence; Large language models; Psychological Needs; Public concern; Rabbits; Real time; United States > US
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adq1814

Conspiracy theory beliefs are notoriously persistent. Influential hypotheses propose that they fulfill important psychological needs, thus resisting counterevidence. Yet previous failures in correcting conspiracy beliefs may be due to counterevidence being insufficiently compelling and tailored. To evaluate this possibility, we leveraged developments in generative artificial intelligence and engaged 2190 conspiracy believers in personalized evidence-based dialogues with GPT-4 Turbo. The intervention reduced conspiracy belief by ~20%. The effect remained 2 months later, generalized across a wide range of conspiracy theories, and occurred even among participants with deeply entrenched beliefs. Although the dialogues focused on a single conspiracy, they nonetheless diminished belief in unrelated conspiracies and shifted conspiracy-related behavioral intentions. These findings suggest that many conspiracy theory believers can revise their views if presented with sufficiently compelling evidence. Beliefs in conspiracies that a US election was stolen incited an attempted insurrection on 6 January 2021. Another conspiracy alleging that Germany’s COVID-19 restrictions were motivated by nefarious intentions sparked violent protests at Berlin’s Reichstag parliament building in August 2020. Amid growing threats to democracy, Costello et al . investigated whether dialogs with a generative artificial intelligence (AI) interface could convince people to abandon their conspiratorial beliefs (see the Perspective by Bago and Bonnefon). Human participants described a conspiracy theory that they subscribed to, and the AI then engaged in persuasive arguments with them that refuted their beliefs with evidence. The AI chatbot’s ability to sustain tailored counterarguments and personalized in-depth conversations reduced their beliefs in conspiracies for months, challenging research suggesting that such beliefs are impervious to change. This intervention illustrates how deploying AI may mitigate conflicts and serve society. —Ekeoma Uzogara