MIT AI Risk Repository · Risk Sub-Category · 31.01.05
Clickbait and feeding the surveillance advertising ecosystem
Category: Information Manipulation
Description
"Beyond misinformation and disinformation, generative AI can be used to create clickbait headlines and articles, which manipulate how users navigate the internet and applications. For example, generative AI is being used to create full articles, regardless of their veracity, grammar, or lack of common sense, to drive search engine optimization and create more webpages that users will click on. These mechanisms attempt to maximize clicks and engagement at the truth’s expense, degrading users’ experiences in the process. Generative AI continues to feed this harmful cycle by spreading misinformat
From Generating Harms - Generative AI's impact and paths forwards (EPIC2023), as extracted by the MIT AI Risk Repository (CC BY 4.0).
Classification
- Domain
- 3. Misinformation
- Causal entity
- Other
- Intent
- Other
- Timing
- Other
Subdomain definition: Highly personalized AI-generated misinformation creating “filter bubbles” where individuals only see what matches their existing beliefs, undermining shared reality, weakening social cohesion and political processes.
Real-world incidents in this subdomain
- Google Books Appears to Be Indexing Works Written by AI
- Uptick in Low-Quality AI-Produced Content Degraded Publishers' Submission Management
- Korean Politician Employed Deepfake as Campaign Representative
- Facebook Political Ad Delivery Algorithms Inferred Users' Political Alignment, Inhibiting Political Campaigns' Reach
How other frameworks describe this risk
- Institutional trust loss
- Information degradation
- Radicalisation
- Reduced decision-making capacity as a result of decreased trust in information
- AI contributes to increased online polarisation
- Worsened epistemic processes for society
- Widespread use of persuasive tools contributes to splintered epistemic communities
- Degradation of the information environment