Foolish Pollsters Are Now Just Asking AI What Voters Would Say in Response to Questions and Publishing It at Face Value

"The idea behind silicon sampling is simple and tantalizing. Because large language models can generate responses that emulate human answers, polling companies see an opportunity to use AI agents to simulate survey responses at a small fraction of the cost and time required for traditional polling."

"Using simulations of human opinions in place of the real thing will only worsen our broken information ecosystem, and sow distrust."

Axios issued a correction for a blog post that misrepresented polling data from Aaru, an AI simulation research firm, as human feedback. This incident illustrates the dangers of 'silicon sampling,' where AI-generated responses are used to simulate survey results. Experts argue that this practice undermines the integrity of opinion polling, as the value of data relies on actual human beliefs. Relying on simulated responses can exacerbate issues in the information ecosystem and lead to increased distrust among the public.

Read at Futurism