AI may reach the person everyone has stopped arguing with

At a family dinner, someone announces that the Moon landing was staged. Again. Everyone knows their lines, and the potatoes are getting cold.

These arguments can make a person seem impossible to reach. A study suggests there may still be room for movement.

In a 2024 study by Costello, Pennycook and Rand, participants described a conspiracy theory they believed and the evidence they found convincing. An AI then discussed those particular claims with them. It had been instructed to argue against the belief.

After the conversations, belief strength fell by about 20% on average. The reduction persisted for at least two months. That means people became less convinced; it does not mean everyone changed their mind.

The intriguing possibility is that some people we consider unreachable may never have had their particular evidence patiently answered. A general explanation can miss the photograph, detail or apparent contradiction that keeps someone convinced. AI could make that individual attention more widely available, without another relative sacrificing their dinner.

This was a controlled study, so it cannot promise peace at the next family gathering. It does suggest that giving up on an argument need not mean the other person is beyond persuasion.

That possibility also makes the chatbot’s assigned goal matter. Here, it was directed to challenge conspiracy beliefs. A convincing conversation is not itself proof that its conclusion is true. The hopeful result is that people can reconsider; the responsibility lies in what we try to convince them of.