Scientific Article for Students

→suggesting words or phrases that help the other person feel heard

Abstract

Imagine a world where everyone can talk and share their ideas. Even if they don’t agree, they listen to each other. This is what should happen in a democracy. But sometimes, when people chat online, things can get a bit mean. We wanted to see if artificial intelligence (AI) could make online talks kinder.

So, we did an online experiment with pairs of people discussing a tricky topic: laws about who can own guns. One participant in each pair had an AI assistant that made suggestions. The participants could accept or ignore the suggestions. Most participants took the AI’s advice, which made people more positive and polite. Even if they disagreed, they understood and respected each other. The good thing is that the AI didn’t change the topic, it just helped people to talk to each other more kindly.

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About this Article

Reading Level
Scientific Topic
Key Words
NGSS Standards
AP Environmental Science Topics
IB Biology Topics
Scientific Methods
Type of Figure
Location of Research
Scientist Affiliation
Included Resources
+ Audio version of article + Blackboard version of article + Links to lessons on political discourse and civil debates
Publication Date
April 2024
Researchers wanted to see if AI assistants can improve online political discussions.
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