The Scenic Route to Deception: Dark Patterns and Explainability Pitfalls in Conversational Navigation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ilyankou, Ilya, Cavazzi, Stefano, Haworth, James
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Ilyankou, Ilya
Cavazzi, Stefano
Haworth, James
author_facet Ilyankou, Ilya
Cavazzi, Stefano
Haworth, James
contents As pedestrian navigation increasingly experiments with Generative AI, and in particular Large Language Models, the nature of routing risks transforming from a verifiable geometric task into an opaque, persuasive dialogue. While conversational interfaces promise personalisation, they introduce risks of manipulation and misplaced trust. We categorise these risks using a 2x2 framework based on intent and origin, distinguishing between intentional manipulations (dark patterns) and unintended harms (explainability pitfalls). We propose seamful design strategies to mitigate these harms. We suggest that one robust way to operationalise trustworthy conversational navigation is through neuro-symbolic architecture, where verifiable pathfinding algorithms ground GenAI's persuasive capabilities, ensuring systems explain their limitations and incentives as clearly as they explain the route.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_14586
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Scenic Route to Deception: Dark Patterns and Explainability Pitfalls in Conversational Navigation
Ilyankou, Ilya
Cavazzi, Stefano
Haworth, James
Human-Computer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
As pedestrian navigation increasingly experiments with Generative AI, and in particular Large Language Models, the nature of routing risks transforming from a verifiable geometric task into an opaque, persuasive dialogue. While conversational interfaces promise personalisation, they introduce risks of manipulation and misplaced trust. We categorise these risks using a 2x2 framework based on intent and origin, distinguishing between intentional manipulations (dark patterns) and unintended harms (explainability pitfalls). We propose seamful design strategies to mitigate these harms. We suggest that one robust way to operationalise trustworthy conversational navigation is through neuro-symbolic architecture, where verifiable pathfinding algorithms ground GenAI's persuasive capabilities, ensuring systems explain their limitations and incentives as clearly as they explain the route.
title The Scenic Route to Deception: Dark Patterns and Explainability Pitfalls in Conversational Navigation
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.14586