DODGY's digital marketing that promoted ticket sales for the farcical Willie's Chocolate Experience could defraud even more unsuspecting customers if not cracked down.
Professor Ana Basili, 39, worries that artificial intelligence-generated advertising will become increasingly common, increasing the risk that consumers will be duped and left with money.
Hundreds of families were left reeling from the harrowing event in Glasgow on February 24, which was billed by organizers the House of Illuminati as a place where “dreams become reality”.
Advertisements for the event featured images promising “a world of magic and whimsy.”
But visitors were shocked to find a sparsely decorated warehouse with no props or chocolates.
And the actors who were hired told how they were given ambiguous AI-generated scripts the night before the event began.
Professor Basili, director of the University of Glasgow's Center for Data Science and AI, urged people to be wary of “exaggerated” content they see online.
The academic told the Scottish Sun on Sunday: “Like any technology, AI can be misused for a variety of purposes. Marketing and social media are areas that are greatly enabled by AI.
“We need to be very careful because the risks are further amplified. There are many platforms that can be used to create content that was previously considered human-generated, so elements of exaggeration and hyperbole are relatively It was limited.
“I think the very important word is the ‘responsible’ use of AI in advertising. We have good regulations against exaggerated and mismarketed advertising, including Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority.
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“But it's up to companies to make sure what they're promoting is accurate. They should label things that are AI, and that's like misinformation.”
Despite promises from Willie's Chocolate Experience organizer Billy Cole, participants still face the nightmare of waiting for refunds, and some staff have yet to be paid.
Professor Basili hopes that lessons can be learned from this tragic event.
But she worries that irresponsible use of AI could lead to similar problems in the future.
This expert says: “Marketing is about showing things that have never been seen before, and exaggeration has always been a part of that. That's why we have rules and regulations.
“AI can over-exaggerate reality. It's scary to see how quickly things can get worse, and even worse than this.” [Willy’s Chocolate Experience] future. “
