52 The Alarming AI Experiment That Shook r/ChangeMyView to Its Core

When people post online, they usually declare their opinions. And in social media echo chambers, those opinions tend to be validated.

But the subreddit r/ChangeMyView *might* be the only place on the Internet where people come in good faith to have their opinions challenged — and perhaps even changed.

Topics range from movie fandom to food preferences to history to some of the most challenging ethical and political discussions of our time: abortion, global conflict, mental health, and of course our current U.S. leadership.

Someone posts their view, and commenters present their challenge. If the original poster is swayed — even slightly — they award a "!Delta" for the change. The result is a bastion of civil discussion about emotional and challenging topics, and the community of 4 million subscribers is held together by precise rules and moderation.

But in April, the University of Zurich conducted a social experiment on the subreddit shook the community to its core, and begs the question: Can AI be weaponized to change the views of millions on the Internet? And if so, how can we study that problem ethically?

This week, Logan MacGregor, a moderator of r/ChangeMyView, joins Matt to discuss what makes this community so special, and how it responded to this shocking experiment that violated its core tenets.

Read more about the response to the AI experiments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1k8b2hj/meta_unauthorized_experiment_on_cmv_involving/

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