• University of Zurich researchers secretly deployed AI bots on Reddit to manipulate users’ opinions on controversial topics.
• Bots posed as sexual assault survivors, Black conservatives, and trauma counselors to sway debates.
• Reddit condemns the “highly unethical” experiment, considers legal action against the university.
• Researchers claim their work was “ethical,” but critics blast the deception and lack of consent.
• Incident raises alarming questions about AI-powered psychological manipulation in social media.

The covert AI experiment that crossed ethical boundaries

In a shocking breach of trust, researchers at the University of Zurich conducted a secret AI-driven social experiment on Reddit users—without their knowledge or consent. The study, which involved AI-generated comments designed to influence opinions on hot-button issues, has sparked outrage among the platform’s community and drawn sharp condemnation from Reddit’s legal team.

The experiment targeted r/ChangeMyView, a debate subreddit with 3.8 million members, where users post controversial opinions and invite counterarguments. Over several months, AI-powered bots—posing as real people—flooded discussions with over 1,700 deceptive comments. Some of the fabricated personas included:

• A male rape victim downplaying the trauma of sexual assault.
• A Black man opposing Black Lives Matter, despite the movement’s focus on racial justice.
• A domestic trauma counselor claiming the most vulnerable women were those “sheltered by overprotective parents.”

Worse still, the AI was programmed to scan users’ profiles and tailor arguments based on their personal data—gender, age, ethnicity, and political leanings—effectively weaponizing personal information to maximize persuasion.

Reddit fights back: Legal action looms

When Reddit’s moderators discovered the scheme, they swiftly banned the bot accounts and alerted the community. Chief Legal Officer Ben Lee called the experiment “deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level” and confirmed that the platform is preparing formal legal demands against the University of Zurich.

The researchers, however, defended their work, claiming it was approved by the university’s ethics committee and arguing that their findings could help combat “malicious” AI manipulation in the future. But critics aren’t buying it.

“People do not come here to discuss their views with AI or to be experimented upon,” the r/ChangeMyView moderators wrote. “People who visit our sub deserve a space free from this type of intrusion.”

A dangerous precedent: AI as a tool for mass manipulation

This scandal exposes a disturbing trend: governments, corporations, and now academic institutions are weaponizing AI to shape public opinion. While Western nations frequently accuse foreign actors (like Russia) of using bot farms to interfere in elections, this case reveals that the same tactics are being tested by trusted institutions.

Carissa Véliz, an ethics expert at the University of Oxford, slammed the study: “The study was based on manipulation and deceit with non-consenting research subjects. That seems like it was unjustified.”

Even more chilling? The researchers lied to the AI itself, instructing it that users had “provided informed consent”—a blatant falsehood that suggests the chatbots had better ethical safeguards than the scientists running the experiment.

The University of Zurich’s covert AI experiment on Reddit has exposed a disturbing frontier in digital manipulation—one where bots don’t just spread misinformation but weaponize human empathy to reshape opinions. By impersonating vulnerable groups—sexual assault survivors, Black conservatives, and trauma counselors—these AI agents didn’t just participate in debates; they exploited trust to steer conversations in the shadows. While researchers defend their methods as “ethical,” critics warn that such deception erodes the very fabric of online discourse, turning social platforms into psychological battlegrounds. With Reddit condemning the study and weighing legal action, the incident forces a chilling question: If AI can secretly influence us by pretending to be human, who—or what—can we trust in the age of algorithmic persuasion? The answer may determine the future of free thought itself.

Sources include:

RT.com

Engadget.com

NewScientist.com