Just the Facts: How Dialogues with AI Reduce Conspiracy Beliefs

Abstract:Personalized dialogues with AI substantially reduce conspiracy beliefs. To identify why, we conducted two experiments with U.S. adults recruited online (total N = 2,193) that removed possible causes one at a time. The debunking effect was robust to disclosing the AI's persuasive goal, framing the exchange as a debate, instructing the AI to inform rather than persuade, halving its response length, altering how beliefs were measured, and replacing the dialogue with a single tailored message. Only instructing the AI to persuade without factual evidence and arguments substantially reduced the debunking effect. Content analyses of the AI's output and participants' own accounts linked larger reductions in conspiracy beliefs to factual argumentation rather than rapport, storytelling, or appeals to empathy. AI dialogues appear to reduce conspiracy beliefs primarily by supplying relevant, well-reasoned counterevidence. Our results suggest that humans might be similarly effective if they could supply comparable evidence.

Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)

arXiv:2611.05572 [cs.HC]

(or arXiv:2611.05572v1 [cs.HC] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2611.05572 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.

Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.