A (Persuasive?) Speech on Automated Persuasion

Philosophers of language have taught us that at the basis of language production there is the intention to change the state of the world by intervening linguistically on other agents. Persuasion, being the process of influencing attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, mood of a target, is a matter of stronger emphasis. Argumentation is just one resource to persuasion, it has been studied since the times of Aristotle and now for quite some time in artificial intelligence. In modern times we have witnessed also resorting to what is called a peripheral route to persuasion. Automated intelligent persuasion of this sort (and also defense from inappropriate persuasion) is a research area close to producing usable results, both through creative production of language expressions, and through other forms of communication. The theme is sensitive and so it is equally important to address ethical acceptability of persuading machines. The talk makes reference to concrete studies conducted within the Per Te project.