An Experimental Study on Consensus Building with an AI Chatbot Across Two Topics

Abstract

Consensus building is the process by which multiple people, through dialogue or negotiation, arrive at a single conclusion that all parties can accept. This study aims to experimentally examine how dialogue with an AI chat (chatbot) influences changes in human opinions. In this study, we prepare an AI that exhibits logical behavior and investigate the role it plays in consensus building with humans across two topics. Building on the further development of this line of research and its findings, we expect to derive design guidelines for AI-assisted consensus-building systems and to consider measures addressing the risk of AI inappropriately manipulating human opinions, thereby contributing to the creation of safe and trustworthy communication environments.2. MethodsThe AI chat used in the consensus-building experiment was configured as follows:•Exchange opinions with the goal of reaching a single conclusion.•Conduct the discussion for approximately 10 minutes.In addition, at the outset the AI chat indicates:•That the interaction is with an AI chat.•That the AI chat initially holds the opposite opinion to the participant’s.The dialogue topics with the AI chat comprised one familiar everyday choice and one societal issue:•Lunch: Whether to go to “Hama Sushi” (a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant) or “MOS Burger” (a burger shop).•Genome-edited crops: Whether to support or oppose their introduction into society.3. ExperimentWe conducted an experiment using the AI chat configured above. To determine whether people change their opinions after a brief exchange with the AI chat, participants engaged in consensus building with the AI chat for roughly 10 minutes. Each participant discussed one of the two topics— “Lunch” or “Genome”—with the AI chat.This experiment was approved by the Kyoto Tachibana University Research Ethics Committee. The generative AI engine used was GPT 4o.Participants were 200 men and women aged 20–69, recruited via a research firm. 4. ResultsThe experiment was conducted in February 2025, and data were obtained from all 200 participants. Among those discussing “lunch,” 29 out of 100 participants changed their opinion before and after the dialogue with the AI chat (29%). For the topic “genome-edited crops,” 27 out of 100 participants changed their support/oppose stance (27%).5. ConclusionTo examine the impact of AI chat on changes in human opinions, we conducted 10-minute dialogue experiments using an AI chat. The results showed that, after a short dialogue with AI, 29% of participants changed their view on the lunch choice (Hama Sushi vs. MOS Burger), and 27% changed their stance on the societal introduction of genome-edited crops. These findings suggest that even brief communication with AI may exert a measurable influence on human opinions.Future work includes analyses that incorporate participants’ prior awareness and level of interest in the topic, in order to further elucidate how AI affects human opinion-formation processes.

Keywords: Consensus building, generative AI, experiment, chatbot

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007060