@inproceedings{chuang-etal-2024-simulating,
title = "Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of {LLM}-based Agents",
author = "Chuang, Yun-Shiuan and
Goyal, Agam and
Harlalka, Nikunj and
Suresh, Siddharth and
Hawkins, Robert and
Yang, Sijia and
Shah, Dhavan and
Hu, Junjie and
Rogers, Timothy",
editor = "Duh, Kevin and
Gomez, Helena and
Bethard, Steven",
booktitle = "Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: NAACL 2024",
month = jun,
year = "2024",
address = "Mexico City, Mexico",
publisher = "Association for Computational Linguistics",
url = "https://aclanthology.org/2024.findings-naacl.211",
pages = "3326--3346",
abstract = "Accurately simulating human opinion dynamics is crucial for understanding a variety of societal phenomena, including polarization and the spread of misinformation. However, the agent-based models (ABMs) commonly used for such simulations often over-simplify human behavior. We propose a new approach to simulating opinion dynamics based on populations of Large Language Models (LLMs). Our findings reveal a strong inherent bias in LLM agents towards producing accurate information, leading simulated agents to consensus in line with scientific reality. This bias limits their utility for understanding resistance to consensus views on issues like climate change. After inducing confirmation bias through prompt engineering, however, we observed opinion fragmentation in line with existing agent-based modeling and opinion dynamics research. These insights highlight the promise and limitations of LLM agents in this domain and suggest a path forward: refining LLMs with real-world discourse to better simulate the evolution of human beliefs.",
}
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<modsCollection xmlns="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
<mods ID="chuang-etal-2024-simulating">
<titleInfo>
<title>Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents</title>
</titleInfo>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Yun-Shiuan</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Chuang</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Agam</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Goyal</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Nikunj</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Harlalka</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Siddharth</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Suresh</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Robert</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Hawkins</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Sijia</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Yang</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Dhavan</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Shah</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Junjie</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Hu</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Timothy</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Rogers</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">author</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<originInfo>
<dateIssued>2024-06</dateIssued>
</originInfo>
<typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource>
<relatedItem type="host">
<titleInfo>
<title>Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: NAACL 2024</title>
</titleInfo>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Kevin</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Duh</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">editor</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Helena</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Gomez</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">editor</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<name type="personal">
<namePart type="given">Steven</namePart>
<namePart type="family">Bethard</namePart>
<role>
<roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">editor</roleTerm>
</role>
</name>
<originInfo>
<publisher>Association for Computational Linguistics</publisher>
<place>
<placeTerm type="text">Mexico City, Mexico</placeTerm>
</place>
</originInfo>
<genre authority="marcgt">conference publication</genre>
</relatedItem>
<abstract>Accurately simulating human opinion dynamics is crucial for understanding a variety of societal phenomena, including polarization and the spread of misinformation. However, the agent-based models (ABMs) commonly used for such simulations often over-simplify human behavior. We propose a new approach to simulating opinion dynamics based on populations of Large Language Models (LLMs). Our findings reveal a strong inherent bias in LLM agents towards producing accurate information, leading simulated agents to consensus in line with scientific reality. This bias limits their utility for understanding resistance to consensus views on issues like climate change. After inducing confirmation bias through prompt engineering, however, we observed opinion fragmentation in line with existing agent-based modeling and opinion dynamics research. These insights highlight the promise and limitations of LLM agents in this domain and suggest a path forward: refining LLMs with real-world discourse to better simulate the evolution of human beliefs.</abstract>
<identifier type="citekey">chuang-etal-2024-simulating</identifier>
<location>
<url>https://aclanthology.org/2024.findings-naacl.211</url>
</location>
<part>
<date>2024-06</date>
<extent unit="page">
<start>3326</start>
<end>3346</end>
</extent>
</part>
</mods>
</modsCollection>
%0 Conference Proceedings
%T Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents
%A Chuang, Yun-Shiuan
%A Goyal, Agam
%A Harlalka, Nikunj
%A Suresh, Siddharth
%A Hawkins, Robert
%A Yang, Sijia
%A Shah, Dhavan
%A Hu, Junjie
%A Rogers, Timothy
%Y Duh, Kevin
%Y Gomez, Helena
%Y Bethard, Steven
%S Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: NAACL 2024
%D 2024
%8 June
%I Association for Computational Linguistics
%C Mexico City, Mexico
%F chuang-etal-2024-simulating
%X Accurately simulating human opinion dynamics is crucial for understanding a variety of societal phenomena, including polarization and the spread of misinformation. However, the agent-based models (ABMs) commonly used for such simulations often over-simplify human behavior. We propose a new approach to simulating opinion dynamics based on populations of Large Language Models (LLMs). Our findings reveal a strong inherent bias in LLM agents towards producing accurate information, leading simulated agents to consensus in line with scientific reality. This bias limits their utility for understanding resistance to consensus views on issues like climate change. After inducing confirmation bias through prompt engineering, however, we observed opinion fragmentation in line with existing agent-based modeling and opinion dynamics research. These insights highlight the promise and limitations of LLM agents in this domain and suggest a path forward: refining LLMs with real-world discourse to better simulate the evolution of human beliefs.
%U https://aclanthology.org/2024.findings-naacl.211
%P 3326-3346
Markdown (Informal)
[Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents](https://aclanthology.org/2024.findings-naacl.211) (Chuang et al., Findings 2024)
ACL
- Yun-Shiuan Chuang, Agam Goyal, Nikunj Harlalka, Siddharth Suresh, Robert Hawkins, Sijia Yang, Dhavan Shah, Junjie Hu, and Timothy Rogers. 2024. Simulating Opinion Dynamics with Networks of LLM-based Agents. In Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: NAACL 2024, pages 3326–3346, Mexico City, Mexico. Association for Computational Linguistics.