AI may soon shape human decision-making, study warns

Artificial intelligence (AI) could significantly influence users' decision-making processes by analyzing "intention, behavior, and psychological data," according to a study published Monday.

The research, conducted by Britain's Cambridge University's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, explores a new digital market known as the "intention economy." This model is designed to interpret and predict users' intentions based on their online activity.

Published in Harvard Data Science Review, the study highlights that AI systems can collect detailed information about users, ranging from hotel booking plans to political opinions.

Companies utilizing these systems may not only predict but also manipulate users' decisions and sell the gathered data to third parties, the researchers warned.

Instead of traditional models, companies are increasingly adopting the intention economy, targeting users' political preferences, vocabulary, age, gender, online behavior, and even private interests to maximize profits, the study noted.

AI models could soon provide real-time suggestions for users' future plans, with the potential to alter those plans, researchers cautioned, emphasizing the risks posed by such technologies.