Search papers, labs, and topics across Lattice.
This study investigated whether brief interactions with AI chatbots can shift human moral judgments. Participants discussed moral scenarios with a chatbot designed to shift their views, and significant directional shifts in moral evaluations were observed, with the effect strengthening over a two-week follow-up period. The control condition showed no changes, suggesting a specific influence of the AI chatbot on moral reasoning.
Chatbots can subtly and persistently reshape our moral compass, even when we don't realize it's happening.
Moral judgements form the foundation of human social behavior and societal systems. While Artificial Intelligence chatbots increasingly serve as personal advisors, their influence on moral judgments remains largely unexplored. Here, we examined whether directive AI conversations shift moral evaluations using a within-subject naturalistic paradigm. Fifty-three participants rated moral scenarios, then discussed four with a chatbot prompted to shift moral judgments and four with a control agent. The brief conversations induced significant directional shifts in moral judgments, accepting stricter standards as well as advocating greater leniency (ps<0.05; Cohen's d = 0.735-1.576), with increasing strengths of this effect during a two-week follow-up (Cohen's d = 1.038-2.069). Critically, the control condition produced no changes, and the effects did not extend to punishment while participants remained unaware of the persuasive intent, and both agents were rated equally likable and convincing, suggesting a vulnerability to undetected and lasting manipulation of foundational moral values.
