Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Chuang, Yun-Shiuan, Goyal, Agam, Harlalka, Nikunj, Suresh, Siddharth, Hawkins, Robert, Yang, Sijia, Shah, Dhavan, Hu, Junjie, Rogers, Timothy T.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Chuang, Yun-Shiuan
Goyal, Agam
Harlalka, Nikunj
Suresh, Siddharth
Hawkins, Robert
Yang, Sijia
Shah, Dhavan
Hu, Junjie
Rogers, Timothy T.
author_facet Chuang, Yun-Shiuan
Goyal, Agam
Harlalka, Nikunj
Suresh, Siddharth
Hawkins, Robert
Yang, Sijia
Shah, Dhavan
Hu, Junjie
Rogers, Timothy T.
contents Accurately simulating human opinion dynamics is crucial for understanding a variety of societal phenomena, including polarization and the spread of misinformation. However, the agent-based models (ABMs) commonly used for such simulations often over-simplify human behavior. We propose a new approach to simulating opinion dynamics based on populations of Large Language Models (LLMs). Our findings reveal a strong inherent bias in LLM agents towards producing accurate information, leading simulated agents to consensus in line with scientific reality. This bias limits their utility for understanding resistance to consensus views on issues like climate change. After inducing confirmation bias through prompt engineering, however, we observed opinion fragmentation in line with existing agent-based modeling and opinion dynamics research. These insights highlight the promise and limitations of LLM agents in this domain and suggest a path forward: refining LLMs with real-world discourse to better simulate the evolution of human beliefs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_09618
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents
Chuang, Yun-Shiuan
Goyal, Agam
Harlalka, Nikunj
Suresh, Siddharth
Hawkins, Robert
Yang, Sijia
Shah, Dhavan
Hu, Junjie
Rogers, Timothy T.
Physics and Society
Computation and Language
Accurately simulating human opinion dynamics is crucial for understanding a variety of societal phenomena, including polarization and the spread of misinformation. However, the agent-based models (ABMs) commonly used for such simulations often over-simplify human behavior. We propose a new approach to simulating opinion dynamics based on populations of Large Language Models (LLMs). Our findings reveal a strong inherent bias in LLM agents towards producing accurate information, leading simulated agents to consensus in line with scientific reality. This bias limits their utility for understanding resistance to consensus views on issues like climate change. After inducing confirmation bias through prompt engineering, however, we observed opinion fragmentation in line with existing agent-based modeling and opinion dynamics research. These insights highlight the promise and limitations of LLM agents in this domain and suggest a path forward: refining LLMs with real-world discourse to better simulate the evolution of human beliefs.
title Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents
topic Physics and Society
Computation and Language
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09618