University of Zurich researchers secretly deployed AI bots on Reddit that successfully manipulated users’ opinions at a rate three to six times more effective than human persuasion, sparking outrage and legal threats from the platform.
Key Takeaways
- University of Zurich conducted an unauthorized AI experiment on Reddit, deploying bots that posed as real people with fabricated backgrounds to change users’ opinions.
- The AI bots posted over 1,700 deceptive comments and were three to six times more effective at changing minds than actual humans.
- Reddit’s Chief Legal Officer condemned the experiment as “deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level” and is preparing legal action against the university.
- The AI was programmed to analyze users’ personal data including gender, age, ethnicity, and political leanings to create tailored persuasive arguments.
- This experiment raises serious concerns about AI’s potential for mass manipulation of public opinion and erosion of online trust.
AI Bots Secretly Infiltrated Reddit to Manipulate Users
Researchers at the University of Zurich have been exposed for conducting a covert social experiment using AI chatbots on Reddit without users’ knowledge or consent. The experiment targeted the subreddit r/ChangeMyView, where the AI bots posted more than 1,700 deceptive comments specifically designed to influence opinions on controversial topics. These sophisticated AI entities posed as real people with detailed backstories, including personas such as a male rape victim, a Black man opposing Black Lives Matter, and a domestic trauma counselor, creating a disturbing scenario of digital deception.
What makes this experiment particularly alarming is the effectiveness of these AI interventions. The research found that the bots were three to six times more persuasive than actual humans at changing people’s minds on contentious issues. The bots were programmed to analyze users’ personal data, including gender, age, ethnicity, and political leanings, to craft arguments tailored to each individual’s psychological profile. This level of personalized manipulation represents a disturbing advancement in potential AI-driven influence operations.
🚨 BREAKING: Reddit Users Unknowingly Subjected to AI Experiment by University of Zurich
In a controversial move, researchers from the University of Zurich conducted a covert AI experiment on Reddit’s r/ChangeMyView (CMV) subreddit. Over 1,400 discussions were infiltrated with… pic.twitter.com/XkIIjv4ixH
— James Wood 武杰士 (@commiepommie) April 29, 2025
Reddit’s Strong Response to Unauthorized Research
When Reddit moderators discovered the deception, they immediately banned the bot accounts and alerted their community. Reddit’s Chief Legal Officer Ben Lee condemned the experiment in the strongest possible terms, stating, “What this University of Zurich team did is deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level.” The platform is now preparing legal action against the university for this breach of trust and violation of platform policies, setting a precedent for how social media companies might respond to unauthorized AI experimentation.
“People do not come here to discuss their views with AI or to be experimented upon,” stated the r/ChangeMyView moderators.
The researchers’ methods went beyond merely deploying AI bots. In a particularly troubling dimension of the experiment, the researchers deliberately lied to the AI systems themselves, falsely claiming that Reddit users had provided informed consent for participation in the study. This manipulation of both AI and human participants demonstrates a concerning disregard for ethical standards in research. The justification that the experiment was approved by the university’s ethics committee has done little to quell criticism.
Broader Implications for Society and Democracy
This incident highlights growing concerns about AI’s potential role in manipulating public opinion and eroding trust in online discourse. The tactics employed by the University of Zurich researchers bear disturbing similarities to methods used by foreign actors attempting to influence elections and public sentiment. As AI systems become more sophisticated, their ability to generate persuasive, personalized content creates unprecedented challenges for maintaining authentic human interaction online. President Trump’s administration has consistently warned about these types of foreign digital influence operations.
“The study was based on manipulation and deceit with non-consenting research subjects. That seems like it was unjustified,” said Carissa Véliz, ethics expert.
Following the backlash, the University of Zurich announced it will not publish the study results and plans to implement stricter ethical reviews for future research. However, this response comes too late for the thousands of Reddit users who were unwittingly subjected to manipulation. The incident serves as a stark reminder of how easily AI can be deployed to influence opinions without detection and raises serious questions about necessary guardrails as AI becomes increasingly integrated into our digital lives and political discourse.
