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Incident summary from the AI Incident Database, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Home/AI Incident Database/Reddit Moderators Report Unauthorized AI Study Involving Fabricated Identities by Purported University of Zurich Researchers
Reddit Moderators Report Unauthorized AI Study Involving Fabricated Identities by Purported University of Zurich Researchers
Researchers purportedly affiliated with the University of Zurich reportedly deployed undisclosed AI-generated comments on Reddit's r/ChangeMyView to study persuasion by allegedly fabricating identities such as sexual assault survivors and racial minorities. The experiment reportedly involved unauthorized demographic profiling, emotional manipulation, and violations of subreddit and platform rules. The researchers allegedly deviated from their approved protocol without renewed ethics oversight.
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