I read this study before bed last night: "." It scared me more than I thought it would. The study explores how chatbots powered by LLMs can influence the formation of false memories for users; in other words, they can literally make users hallucinate.
The researchers conducted an experiment where participants watched video of a crime scene and then interacted with different types of AI systems or completed a survey. They found that AI chatbots were significantly more likely to induce false memories in participants compared to traditional survey methods or no intervention at all.
It gets worse. Not only did AI chatbots create more false memories, but they also increased participants' confidence in these inaccurate recollections. The study revealed that these false memories (and the associated high confidence levels) persisted even after a week.
It's just one study; more work will need to be done to verify the findings. However, misremembering is a well-documented phenomenon. There are decades of research that highlight the fallibility of human memory and the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. This new study on AI-induced false memories adds another layer of complexity to our understanding of memory formation. It suggests that as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, we will need to be even more vigilant about the accuracy of our recollections and the sources of our information.
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P.S. If you want to better understand the technical terms "hallucination" and "confabulation" in the context of AI, consider taking our free online course, . It will accelerate your AI journey.
ABOUT SHELLY PALMER
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named he covers tech and business for , is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular . He's a , and the creator of the popular, free online course, . Follow or visit .
