Infiltrated algorithms and AI agents: the advance of new persuaders

In this time of war, which even marketing seems to be turned upside down, even a stuffed animal that is a childhood icon can lose its innocence and be conscripted and sent to the front, becoming an instrument of military propaganda. This recently happened to a small bear with large ears, oversized eyes, and brown fur. The emotional storytelling tells of its arrival from an exotic country, discovered by chance in a crate of oranges in Moscow's general market. Its name is Cheburashka , affectionately known to all as Che, a little creature that appeared on Russian television way back in 1969 thanks to artist Leonid Shvarchman. It was a resounding success. Che has always brought generations together and embodied friendship, even though today it appears in camouflage and fully armed, embroidered on patches on soldiers' uniforms, and even depicted on a flamethrower used in Ukraine. Nothing new under the dull sun of conflict. Cartoons have played a leading role in war propaganda in the past. Ultimately, they convey simple and immediate messages, attempting to persuade audiences. But today, the leap is quantum because the persuasive communication campaign is becoming transmedial and therefore much more impactful.

Surprise, or perhaps not. Persuasion is creeping into immersive technologies and into artificial intelligence increasingly adept at offering personalized solutions. An investigation published a few days ago in the American magazine The Atlantic and reported by Time describes an experiment conducted in a Reddit user community in which AI agents infiltrated the community to discuss and persuade members without their knowledge. The AI ​​generated arguments tailored to the users' personalities and core values, as identified through their online history. This form of deep tailoring succeeded in acting as a kind of covert persuasion: invisible in content, yet effective on a psychological level. Hence the warning: AI can manipulate opinions and behaviors invisibly and potentially harmfully.

"Today, more than ever, we are often the unwitting victims of AI agents and people of questionable morality who try to extort money from us for nothing, of phantom experts in everything and anything who promise us miracles at a low price and with very little effort. Furthermore, the world moves at the speed of light and is overstimulated: if you want to be heard, you have to know how. If you want to stand out in this chaos, you have to know the rules of the game," says Paolo Borzacchiello, author of "Instant Persuasion: The Secrets of Neuroscience Applied to Persuasion," a guide to understanding and mastering the dynamics of persuasion.

" Persuasion is not manipulation , nor a dark art reserved for a select few. It is not deception, nor is it undue pressure. It is the ability to consciously inspire, influence, and direct the decisions of others, drawing on cognitive mechanisms deeply rooted in the human brain. It is not an innate talent, but a skill that anyone can learn and hone," Borzacchiello specifies. But beware. In an age marked by artificial intelligence, the most effective responses come from linguistic intelligence . "Words are our way of changing the perception of the end consumer, but not only that: they are also the tool we can use to make them feel good, to enhance their experience, to design emotional scenarios that benefit everyone, including ourselves. With the right words, we can create or consolidate valuable relationships, inspire emotion, and build long-lasting empathetic bonds," says Borzacchiello.

More than fifty years later, persuaders are still hidden, even if they have shed their disguise, lurking in the constant scrolling of a smartphone. The mechanisms that Vance Packard, an American sociologist attentive to the manipulation of advertising and consumer psychology, theorized in 1957 in a bestselling essay, have not disappeared, but have been incorporated into the code. After all, algorithms are the new hidden persuaders, presenting themselves as tailor-made services. They haven't disappeared, but have become systems, interfaces, intuition. They don't speak to you, but suggest. They don't convince you, but predict you. After all, apps use red to create urgency, notification sounds imitate Pavlovian reflexes, visual language mirrors old advertising patterns. In short, yesterday's hidden persuaders are still among us, disguised as user experience.