the alert of these Cambridge scientists

“LLMs (Large Language Models such as ChatGPT) will determine what your intention is, what your desire is, what you are trying to do, given the context, and present the information to you in the best way possible”.

This statement from Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, says a lot about the expectations of Tech giants on this technology. The Internet economy could be radically transformed while our democracies also risk paying the price. A look back at a fascinating study carried out by scientists from the University of Cambridge.

From the attention economy to the intention economy

To summarize the authors' thesis, we must define the attention economy that has governed the Internet for many years now. Concretely, the web giants and in particular social networks do everything to keep you on their platforms as long as possible to capture your attention. In other words, to know you better and show you advertisements based on your interests. It's pretty basic, but it allows them to recover astronomical sums of money every year.

The intent economy relies on new AI models that understand and predict our intentions and could sell this information to companies who would in turn profit from it.

Jonnie Penn, one of the authors, emphasizes: “If left unregulated, the intent economy will treat your motivations as the new currency. It will be a gold rush for those who target, direct and sell human intentions. »

He adds: “We should start thinking about the likely impact such a market would have on human aspirations, including free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition, before we fall victim to its unintended consequences. »

A pretty scary future

In their study, the researchers note that language models such as ChatGPT could be used to “anticipate and guide” users based on “intentional, behavioral and psychological data”.

They cite the example of an AI which would try to capture the attention of an Internet user in real time by asking them if they have thought about watching a particular film or series. They cite the example of a dialogue where the chatbot offers: “You mentioned you were feeling overworked, should I book you that movie ticket we talked about?” »

Finally, the authors imagine a future where large technology companies such as Meta sell to advertisers a user's intentions to book a restaurant, a flight or a hotel. And an AI with whom you interact all day long will be even better able to anticipate your aspirations.