Empirical Evidence That Large Language Models Influence Human Spoken Communication
A preprint study finds that words preferentially generated by ChatGPT, such as 'delve' and 'showcase', have seen a marked increase in spontaneous human speech since ChatGPT's release. Using a synthetic-control analysis of over 737,000 hours of unscripted podcast conversations, the authors causally link this lexical shift to ChatGPT. Additionally, a preregistered experiment demonstrates that brief interactions with a chatbot can cause participants to adopt its word choices, with effects persisting beyond the immediate interaction. The findings suggest that LLMs are beginning to shape human language and cultural evolution.
Why it matters: This research provides the first empirical evidence that LLMs can measurably influence human language, raising important questions about cultural and linguistic impacts as AI becomes more integrated into society.
Full story at: arXiv Computers and Society ↗