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AI agents' Impact on human agency risk for AI

Last updated: May 27, 2025
AI agents' Impact on human agency risk for AI
Societal impact Icon representing societal impact risks.
Societal impact
Non-technical risks
Amplified by generative AI

Description

The autonomous nature of AI agents in performing tasks or taking actions could affect the individuals’ ability to engage in critical thinking, make choices, and acting independently.

Why is ai agents' impact on human agency a concern for foundation models?

AI agents might shift the decision, thinking, and control from humans to machines. This might negatively impact society and human welfare as they limit the freedom and meaningful participations of humans in performing a task or making decisions.

Background image for risks associated with non-technical
Example

Voters Manipulation in Elections Using AI

As per the source article, a wave of AI deepfakes tied to elections in Europe and Asia coursed through social media for months. The growth of generative AI has raised concern that this technology could disrupt major elections across the world. With AI deepfakes, a candidate’s image can be smeared, or softened. Voters can be steered toward or away from candidates — or even to avoid the polls altogether. But perhaps the greatest threat to democracy, experts say, is that a surge of AI deepfakes could erode the public’s trust in what they see and hear.

Parent topic: AI risk atlas

We provide examples covered by the press to help explain many of the foundation models' risks. Many of these events covered by the press are either still evolving or have been resolved, and referencing them can help the reader understand the potential risks and work toward mitigations. Highlighting these examples are for illustrative purposes only.