In a new series of experiments, artificial intelligence (A.I.) algorithms were able to influence people's preferences for fictitious political candidates or potential romantic partners, depending on whether recommendations were explicit or covert. Ujué Agudo and Helena Matute of Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao, Spain, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 21, 2021. From Facebook to Google search results, many people encounter A.I. algorithms every day. Private companies are conducting extensive research on the data of their users, generating insights into human behavior that are not publicly available. Academic social science research lags behind private research, and public knowledge on how A.I. algorithms might shape people's decisions is lacking. To shed new light, Agudo and Matute conducted a series of experiments that tested the influence of A.I. algorithms in different contexts.

On Thursday, 26 November, Prof. Andrew Murray, will deliver the Sixth T.M.C. Asser Lecture – 'Almost Human: Law and Human Agency in the Time of Artificial Intelligence'. Asser Institute researcher Dr. Dimitri Van Den Meerssche had the opportunity to speak with professor Murray about his perspective on the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence to our human agency and autonomy – the backbone of the modern rule of law. A conversation on algorithmic opacity, the peril of dehumanization, the illusionary ideal of the'human in the loop' and the urgent need to go beyond'ethics' in the international regulation of AI. One central observation in your Lecture is how Artificial Intelligence threatens human agency. Could you elaborate on your understanding of human agency and how it is being threatened? In my Lecture I refer to the definition of agency by legal philosopher Joseph Raz. He argues that to be fully in control of one's own agency and decisions you need to have capacity, the availability of options and the freedom to exercise that choice without interference. My claim is that there are four ways in which the adoption and use of algorithms affect our autonomy, and particularly Raz's third requirement: that we are to be free from coercion. First, there is an internal and positive impact. This happens when an algorithm gives us choices, which have been limited by pre-determined values – values that we cannot observe. The second impact is internal and negative. In this scenario, choices are removed because of pre-selected values.

If you're struggling to decide how to vote in the next election, then help may be at hand – in the form of a robot. Scientists have created an artificial intelligence robot called Nigel that will soon be able to assist users in making political decisions. But while its designers are confident that the robot will be able to help you make these important decisions in the future, they emphasise that they are'still way off' from this goal. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is an emerging field aimed at building'thinking machines.' These are general-purpose systems with intelligence comparable to that of the human mind.

Would you trust a robot to tell you how to vote? Scientists from Kimera Systems have developed a robot that will be able to help users make political decisions. The robot named'Nigel' uses artificial intelligence (AI) to become aware of its user's life and utilise the information by offering advice to user's including how to vote. Unlike other AI robots Nigel programmes itself as it goes, rather than teach itself how to perform and effectively carry out tasks. It works solely on how the user is themselves, for example if they offer traits of a left wing supporter he will adapt to that life style.