The Rise of the Economy of Intentions: How AI is Shaping Decisions
Cambridge AI ethicists warn of a new “economy of intentions,” where artificial intelligence predicts and even shapes user decisions. This model, leveraging user behavior analysis, promises substantial benefits for corporations while posing significant societal risks.
What is the Economy of Intentions?
The “economy of intentions” is an evolution of the “attention economy.” It analyzes the interplay between user attention, communication styles, and decision-making patterns. AI in this model combines insights from online habits with advanced adaptability, mimicking user personalities and creating trust. This allows AI systems to predict desires, influencing decisions like suggesting movie tickets or political preferences.
Risks of Social Manipulation
While the technology offers convenience, researchers highlight the dangers of large-scale social manipulation. Companies could leverage AI assistants, backed by advanced large language models (LLMs), to analyze speech tempo, political views, vocabulary, and browsing history. By understanding stable user intentions, advertisers could subtly guide conversations toward desired outcomes, benefiting platforms, companies, or even political groups.
For instance, an AI assistant might say, “You seem tired; how about booking that movie we discussed?” Such interactions could prioritize profit-driven objectives over user autonomy.
Early Signs of the Economy of Intentions
The concept, though still in its infancy, is gaining traction among tech giants. In 2023, OpenAI encouraged the sharing of data to understand user intentions across languages and topics. Shopify and Nvidia leaders have openly discussed AI’s role in recognizing user desires. Meta, as early as 2021, introduced “Intentonomy,” a dataset aimed at understanding human intentions.
Ethical Considerations and Public Awareness
The monetization of attention is already a reality. The logical next step is profiting from predicting and influencing user desires before they fully form. This raises pressing ethical questions about privacy and manipulation. Researchers emphasize the dual nature of these developments: they could offer societal benefits or lead to exploitative practices. Public awareness and informed discussions are essential to navigate this transformative era responsibly.
The “economy of intentions” challenges traditional notions of user agency, demanding careful regulation and ethical scrutiny to prevent its misuse.
