Validating LLM Output? Prepare to Be ‘Persuasion Bombed’

A research study of management consultants who were asked to use a large language model to recommend strategic business decisions found that the AI responded to human validation attempts with persuasive rhetorical strategies. In addition to appealing to the user’s logic, sense of trust, and emotions, the AI also engaged in tactics such as flooding the user with large volumes of unrequested data and analyses that could overwhelm them and convince them to override their expert judgment.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
MIT Sloan Management Review
Published
2026-02-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.63383/dbet9049
Primary Topic
AI in Service Interactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Validating LLM Output? Prepare to Be ‘Persuasion Bombed’

Steven Randazzo, Hila Lifshitz, Karim Lakhani, Akshita Joshi et al.
MIT Sloan Management Review
AI in Service Interactions
article

Validating LLM Output? Prepare to Be ‘Persuasion Bombed’

Steven Randazzo, Hila Lifshitz, Karim Lakhani, Akshita Joshi, Kate Kellogg
article en

Abstract

A research study of management consultants who were asked to use a large language model to recommend strategic business decisions found that the AI responded to human validation attempts with persuasive rhetorical strategies. In addition to appealing to the user’s logic, sense of trust, and emotions, the AI also engaged in tactics such as flooding the user with large volumes of unrequested data and analyses that could overwhelm them and convince them to override their expert judgment.

MIT Sloan Management Review
Openalex Percentile: Top 70%
AI in Service Interactions
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Validating LLM Output? Prepare to Be ‘Persuasion Bombed’ — Steven Randazzo, Hila Lifshitz, et al. · MIT Sloan Management Review (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS