How AI is Rewiring Our Decisions: Love, Votes & Friendships
You’ve probably noticed, whether you’re texting a chatbot, debating online, or swiping on a dating app, AI is quietly steering how we think, feel, decide, and connect. It’s not just a “tool” anymore: it’s part of the operating system of our daily behaviours.
Today, people lean on AI chatbots or behaviour-tracking apps for everything from habit change to mood logging to emotional support. The field of behavioural science is already showing that these systems are changing not just what we do, but how we feel and think. When you know an algorithm may be assessing you, say a job-filter or mental-health-app, you’ll tweak your behaviour accordingly. In one study conducted by the PNAS (Psychological and Cognitive Sciences), job candidates who believed they were being assessed by AI skewed toward more analytical responses over emotional ones. The takeaway? You’re adapting to AI.
Politics, Voting Decisions & Bias
In the political arena, AI is influencing how opinions form and how decisions are made. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that the majority of Americans believe increased AI use will worsen people's ability to be creative, form meaningful relationships, and make tough decisions. Moreover, studies of “AI agents” show humans may be swayed even when they believe they’re interacting with a machine. So yes, algorithmic nudges, echo-chambers, and content-filters matter, but social context still holds a major sway.
Romance & Friendships
When your “plus one” might be an algorithm (like dating apps) or your advice-buddy is a chatbot, romance and friendships are shifting under the surface. AI is mediating how we connect, what we expect and even how we break up. Behaviour-change research from Cornell University shows that when those tools sense our patterns, they don’t just reflect them, they shape them. Whether you’re ghosting someone via DM or logging your emotions in an app, AI is part of the equation now.
Social Norms & Behaviour Change
This gets wider still: when you believe an algorithm is “watching,” you’ll behave differently. More polite, maybe less spontaneous? Research shows people adjust when they think they’re submitting to AI assessment systems. On a larger scale, the environment of algorithm-curated feeds and AI-recommended friends is shifting what we think of as “normal” behaviour. Example changes: heightened self-monitoring, altered risk preferences, and internalised algorithmic expectations.
Why It Matters
Because you’re not just adapting apps, you’re adapting yourself, and if you work with audiences, bridal designers, boutique owners, marketers, or AI-enthusiasts, you need to grasp this. If your customers’ thinking, feeling, and connection styles are changing due to AI, your strategy, brand story, and community building must shift too.
Quick Snapshot
When people believe AI is assessing them, they adjust their behaviour.
In politics, influence is more algorithmic (but not omnipotent).
Romance and friendships are mediated increasingly by AI tools.
Social norms evolve as algorithmic feedback loops shape perception of “normal”.
You could sit back and let AI quietly steer how your audience thinks and acts, or you can use that insight to anticipate change, build smarter strategies, and stay ahead. Acknowledge how AI has impacted your life and your behaviors, and stay present. It’s important to not sit idly by as you change, subtly or blatantly, to the increasingly AI dependent world we live in. Use AI to your advantage, but don’t lose yourself in the process.
