McKenna, Robin
(2025)
Sophistry on steroids? The ethics, epistemology and politics of persuasive AI.
AI & SOCIETY.
pp. 1-12.
ISSN 0951-5666, 1435-5655
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This paper examines the ethical, epistemological, and political implications of persuasive AI technologies. Recent research suggests that AI is roughly as persuasive as humans in many contexts. Should this concern us? I argue that, while some worries about persuasive AI may be overblown, we should be worried for a mix of ethical, epistemological and political reasons. Most centrally, we should be worried because persuasive AI may lead to a small number of powerful actors dominating what I call the “marketplace of arguments”—the set of arguments that provide the materials we use to discuss important moral, political and societal issues.</jats:p>
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 50 Philosophy and Religious Studies, 5001 Applied Ethics |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of the Arts |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Sep 2025 09:59 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2025 02:56 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00146-025-02624-z |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02624-z |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3194595 |
Altmetric
Altmetric