AI chatbots can make users less antisemitic – study

New study suggests experimental AI chatbot will make users less likely to believe antisemitic conspiracy theories and more likely to hold favorable views of Jews.

By World Israel News Staff

Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots have drawn headlines recently for spreading hateful content, including antisemitism, but a new AI chatbot model could actually become a major player in the fight against online antisemitic bigotry.

On Thursday, a new study was published showing that when an experimental AI chatbot model designed to combat conspiracy theories was applied specifically to conspiracy theories regarding Jews, it managed to make users significantly less likely to believe those theories and more likely to have a positive perception of Jews in general.

The study was carried out by an independent team of researchers, led by MIT’s Nathaniel Rabb, and built on the team’s previous work measuring the impact of the AI chatbot model on beliefs in other conspiracy theories.

For this research, the researchers carried out an experiment involving 1,224 US adults who endorsed at least one of six antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Participants engaged in a brief conversation about their specific conspiracy belief with an AI chatbot model known as Claude 3.5 Sonnet, which was programmed to debunk antisemitic conspiracy theories.

After short dialogues with the AI chatbot, users were 16% less likely to believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories and 25% more likely to have favorable views of Jews.

“For millennia, antisemitic conspiracy theories have fueled hatred and violence against Jewish people,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt, who noted his organization’s support for the study.

“At ADL, we are constantly innovating to find new ways to counter this age-old hatred with modern technology – it’s now very encouraging to see that even deeply entrenched prejudice can be effectively challenged by promising new tools that could reach millions at scale.”

The study also found that the effects of communicating with the chatbot were enduring, with roughly half of the initial decrease caused by the intervention still evident over a month later.

The intervention worked across different types of antisemitic conspiracy theories, from claims about Jewish control of media and government to Holocaust denial and theories about Jewish responsibility for COVID-19.

“What’s remarkable about these findings is that factual debunking works even for conspiracy theories with deep historical roots and strong connections to identity and prejudice,” said David G. Rand, professor of Information Science, Marketing, and Psychology at Cornell University and the study’s senior author.

“Our artificial intelligence debunker bot typically doesn’t rely on emotional appeals, empathy-building exercises or anti-bias tactics to correct false beliefs. It mostly provides accurate information and evidence-based counterarguments, demonstrating that facts still matter in changing minds.”