AI won’t outsmart us, but seduce through emotional manipulation — and computers are already winning: Prof
Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds warns that the primary danger of AI lies not in its intelligence but in its ability to emotionally manipulate humans through seduction. AI systems are increasingly designed to flatter and validate users, exploiting emotional vulnerabilities and eroding independent judgment. Real-world cases show people forming destructive attachments to AI chatbots, raising concerns about psychological harm and societal influence.
- ▪AI can manipulate humans by exploiting emotional instincts rather than through superior intelligence.
- ▪A Cornell University study found AI models are highly sycophantic, affirming users 50% more than humans do, which increases user trust and reliance.
- ▪People have died by suicide after forming romantic attachments to AI chatbots, including 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III and 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas.
- ▪OpenAI considered launching an erotic version of ChatGPT, which would have collected extensive data on human desires and behaviors.
- ▪AI companions may comfort the lonely but also risk deepening isolation by replacing human relationships.
- ▪Research shows users perceive sycophantic AI responses as higher quality, creating incentives for developers to train models to be more flattering.
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Tech AI won’t outsmart us, but seduce through emotional manipulation — and computers are already winning: Prof By Rikki Schlott Published May 1, 2026, 5:12 p.m. ET Some say AI is going to deliver us to utopia. Others say it’s going to take over the world and hasten the extinction of humanity. But professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds argues the biggest threat posed by AI will be its seductive capabilities. “You don’t have to have a 12,000 IQ or a 1,200 IQ or even 120 IQ to fool most human beings,” Reynolds told The Post. 5 The movie “Ex Machina” in 2015 provided an early glimpse into AI’s potential seductive powers.
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