Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms are becoming increasingly adept at influencing user behavior, experts say.

Researchers from Australia’s National Science Agency recently devised a way to find and exploit vulnerabilities in the way humans make choices using AI. The latest research is just one of a wave of AI-powered systems designed to manipulate human decision-making.

“There are countless ways in which AI influences behavior,” said Kentaro Toyama, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Information and author of Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology, in an email interview.

“In fact, if you've ever done a Google search and clicked on a link, you were influenced by an AI system that guessed your interests and served up results it deemed most relevant to you.”