Studies: LLMs Sway Political Opinions More Than One-Way Messaging

Is AI's political influence overhyped in a saturated media landscape, or are invisible biases already warping democracy?

Published 1 day ago

Studies: LLMs Sway Political Opinions More Than One-Way Messaging

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Above: An iPhone with OpenAI's GPT-5.1 model within the ChatGPT app in Lafayette, Cali., Nov. 13, 2025. Image credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The Spin

Techno-skeptic narrative

AI language models are already warping political reality in ways voters can't detect. These systems adjust responses based on demographic cues, hold hidden political assumptions that filter election information through invisible biases and pass survey fraud checks while mimicking human respondents in polls. Unless we intervene now, AI is set to do unspeakable damage to global democracy.

Economist Time

NBC News on Youtube

Techno-optimist narrative

Fears about AI destroying democracy are wildly overblown. Personalized AI targeting faces the same old problems that have always plagued political ads — messy data, expensive delivery and the stubborn fact that changing minds is incredibly hard. The potential of AI is dependent on the intention of those who wield it and its potential for a democratic society knows no bounds if used correctly.

Guardian Reutersinstitute