Science study: AI swarms now affect 70 countries, threaten democracy
Technology
A fresh study in Science warns that swarms of AI bots are now powerful enough to sway public opinion and even threaten democracy.
These AI agents can pose as real people online, making it seem like everyone agrees on certain topics, even when that's not true.
The number of countries affected has shot up from 28 in 2017 to 70 today, including places like the US and the Philippines.
AI misinformation hit Brazil, Ireland elections
The research cites incidents of AI-driven misinformation in Brazilian and Irish elections.
These swarms work by blending smart language models with coordinated bot networks to sneak into communities and fake agreement.
Some groups even run these operations for profit, raising tough questions about free speech and how we spot what's real online.