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. The peripheral route to persuasion [1] is a different modality, one that is based on indirect, evocative, aesthetic aspects of the message. 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 traditional goal of human-oriented information technology is mostly to offer services. With intelligent persuasive interfaces, instead, the overall goal is to produce an effect on humans, to influence their beliefs, their attitudes and eventually their actions and overall behavior. The area of intelligent persuasion has the potential to change the picture radically in the world of advertising and of social influencing.