University of Gothenburg researcher duped AI chatbots with fake 'bixonimania'
Technology
A Swedish medical researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden made up a completely fake eye condition called "bixonimania," supposedly caused by too much screen time and blue light, to see if AI chatbots would fall for it.
They even created fake studies and an imaginary expert, and sure enough, several of the bots treated it as legitimate, describing symptoms and treatments like it was real.
Experiment highlights AI misinformation risk
This experiment shows how easily misinformation can spread online, especially when AI is involved.
People on X debated whether AIs spreading these fakes are really any different from human mistakes in science.
The takeaway? We need better ways to make sure AI checks its facts before sharing information.