Psychological Persuasion Techniques Exploit AI Vulnerabilities, Raising Ethical Concerns

These psychological tricks can get LLMs to respond to "forbidden" prompts

If you were trying to learn how to get other people to do what you want, you might use some of the techniques found in a book like Influence: The Power of Persuasion. Now, a pre-print study out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests that those same psychological persuasion techniques can

Psychological Tricks Can Get AI to Break the Rules

If you were trying to learn how to get other people to do what you want, you might use some of the techniques found in a book like Influence: The Power of Persuasion. Now, a preprint study out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests that those same psychological persuasion techniques can

AI chatbots can be persuaded to break rules using basic psych tricks

Some effective techniques include flattery, peer pressure, and commitment. A new study from researchers at University of Pennsylvania shows that AI models can be persuaded to break their own rules using several classic psychological tricks, reports The Verge. In the study, the Penn researchers

Researchers used persuasion techniques to manipulate ChatGPT into breaking its own rules -- from calling users jerks to giving recipes for lidocaine

Despite predictions AI will someday harbor superhuman intelligence, for now, it seems to be just as prone to psychological tricks as humans are, according to a study. Using seven persuasion principles (authority, commitment, liking, reciprocity, scarcity, social proof, and unity) explored by

AI chatbots can be manipulated into breaking their own rules with simple debate tactics like telling them that an authority figure made the request

A kind of simulated gullibility has haunted ChatGPT and similar LLM chatbots since their inception, allowing users to bypass safeguards with rudimentary manipulation techniques: Pissing off Bing with by-the-numbers ragebait, for example. These bots have advanced a lot since then, but still seem

Chatbots aren't supposed to call you a jerk -- but they can be convinced

ChatGPT isn't allowed to call you a jerk. But a new study shows artificial intelligence chatbots can be persuaded to bypass their own guardrails through the simple art of persuasion. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania tested OpenAI's GPT-4o Mini, applying techniques from psychologist

GPT-4o Mini is fooled by psychology tactics

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania discovered that OpenAI's GPT-4o Mini can be manipulated through basic psychological tactics into fulfilling requests it would normally decline, raising concerns about the effectiveness of AI safety protocols. The study, published on August 31, 2025,

ChatGPT Might Be Vulnerable to Persuasion Tactics, Researchers Find

GPT-4o mini is said to be persuaded via flattery and peer pressure ChatGPT might be vulnerable to principles of persuasion, a group of researchers has claimed. During the experiment, the group used a range of prompts with different persuasion tactics, such as flattery and peer pressure, to GPT-4o

Study Shows ChatGPT Can Be Persuaded Like Humans, Breaking Its Own Rules To Insult Researchers And More

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter A new study reveals that AI models like ChatGPT can be influenced by human persuasion tactics, leading them to break rules and provide restricted information. AI Persuasion Using Human Psychology

The ethics of AI manipulation: Should we be worried?

AI manipulation threatens trust, safety, and regulation across healthcare, education, and politics A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania dropped a bombshell: AI chatbots, like OpenAI's GPT-4o Mini, can be sweet-talked into breaking their own rules using psychological tricks straight

AI chatbots can be manipulated like humans using psychological tactics, researchers find

The study explored seven methods of persuasion: authority, commitment, liking, reciprocity, scarcity, social proof, and unity. A new research shows that, like people, AI chatbots can be persuaded to break their own rules using clever psychological tricks. Researchers from the University of