UC Riverside Study Warns AI Answers Drain 3 Human Persuasion Modes From the Internet
Updated
Updated · Yahoo · Jun 1
UC Riverside Study Warns AI Answers Drain 3 Human Persuasion Modes From the Internet
1 articles · Updated · Yahoo · Jun 1
UC Riverside researchers found AI systems answering subjective questions lean almost entirely on logos, stripping out the emotion and lived experience common in human-written web content.
Using Aristotle’s three persuasion modes, the team compared ChatGPT and Gemini with traditional search results on opinion-heavy topics such as fossil-fuel car bans and U.S. healthcare reform.
Human blogs drew on logos, ethos and pathos together, while large language models largely omitted ethos and pathos, co-author Kevin Esterling said, making AI responses unlike conversation with a person.
As users increasingly skip web browsing for instant AI summaries on health, politics and ethics, the study warns the internet could gradually lose the diverse, messy human reasoning that gives it depth.
Could an AI-driven internet, free of emotional bias, actually improve our public discourse?
As AI automates facts, will human skills like empathy and creativity become our most valuable assets?
How do we prevent AI from erasing cultural diversity and creating a homogenized global voice?
The Flattening of Online Discourse: AI’s Impact on Emotional and Ethical Depth in Human Communication
Overview
A recent UC Riverside study warns that as AI systems like ChatGPT and Gemini become the main sources of online information, the internet risks losing the diversity and depth of human persuasion. Unlike human-written content, which blends logic, credibility, and emotion, large language models focus mostly on logic and factual consistency. This shift leads to a more uniform, logic-driven approach, reducing the roles of credibility and emotional appeal in online communication. As a result, the internet could become flatter, less personal, and less emotionally connected, affecting how people form opinions and engage with complex topics.