How AI Can Be Used to Manipulate People

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool that can be harnessed for various purposes, including creating authoritarian cults and enslaving people. Cult leaders and dictators can use AI to monitor, manipulate, and control people, leading to their eventual subjugation.

By gathering data on individuals' online activities, including their search history, social media posts, and browsing patterns, AI algorithms can create a profile of a person's preferences and interests. Cult leaders and dictators can use the information to create individually tailored content that reinforces their ideology and manipulates people into following their beliefs.

As deputy chief technology officer and senior information scientist at the RAND Corporation, Dr. Rand Waltzman managed artificial intelligence research. His 50 years of expertise on AI has led him to found the Information Professional Association and share knowledge on social media describing specific techniques now in use online to deceive, manipulate and indoctrinate people. He contends that immersive digital environments (the metaverse) will only compound its power to influence people—to vote a certain way or to believe a certain way—exponentially amplifying the ability to exert undue influence on humanity.

Simulated People, Simulated Relationships

AI can also be used to create virtual assistants that simulate human interaction. Such assistants can mimic a human's tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language, creating the illusion of a personal relationship. Cult leaders and dictators can use such virtual assistants to create a sense of intimacy with their followers, leading to a sense of emotional attachment to them and willingness to comply with their demands. People can be emotionally tricked by wishfully imagining actual human caring.

Furthermore, AI can be used to create deepfake videos and images, highly realistic simulations of people saying or doing things that they never actually did. Cult leaders and dictators can use deepfakes to create false narratives, making it seem like people support their ideology and actions. Such activity can sow confusion and mistrust, as people are unable to distinguish between reality and falsehoods.

Another way that AI can be used to enslave people is by creating algorithms that control access to information. By limiting the content people can access online, cult leaders and dictators can ensure that their followers receive only information that reinforces their beliefs—creating an echo chamber in which people are unable to access differing viewpoints and likely to believe in conspiracy theories.

Predicting—and Manipulating—User Behaviors

Additionally, AI can be used to create predictive models that anticipate people's behavior. By analyzing patterns in people's online activities and social media interactions, AI algorithms can predict what a person is likely to do next. Cult leaders and dictators can use predictive models to manipulate people into doing what they want by providing incentives or punishments based on predicted behavior.

Moreover, AI can be used to create surveillance systems that monitor people's behavior in real time. By analyzing video feeds and data from sensors, AI algorithms can detect and flag behavior that goes against the cult leader's ideology or that is seen as dissenting. The upshot can be the creation of a culture of fear and suspicion in which people are afraid to speak out or behave in ways that may be seen as subversive.

In conclusion, AI can be used by authoritarian cults and dictators to manipulate and control people, leading to their eventual enslavement. By using AI to gather data on individuals' behavior, create virtual assistants, produce deepfakes, control access to information, develop predictive models, and monitor behavior, cult leaders and dictators can ensure that their followers are subservient and compliant.

It is crucial to be aware of the dangers of manipulation by AI and take steps to prevent its misuse for such purposes. An informed public must ensure that AI is developed and used ethically and that safeguards are put in place to protect people's privacy and freedom. Data privacy laws must be passed and enforced. Regulations must be developed and agreed to by all countries interested in business and the preservation of human rights. Without such agreement, authoritarian countries will be able to block all external influences and be free to use predatory behavior on all societies, like America, that allow open access.