Experts have warned that artificial intelligence is undermining the reliability of online surveys, after a YouGov poll on church attendance in England and Wales was withdrawn due to fraudulent data. The survey, commissioned by the Bible Society, claimed congregations were swelling with young people, but was later found to be based on bogus responses.
Researchers say paid participants are increasingly using AI tools to generate large volumes of survey answers quickly, a practice known as 'survey farming'. This threatens the integrity of opt-in polls that often shape public discourse. David Voas, emeritus professor at University College London, said: 'Our confidence in these sorts of polls is being undermined, and it's very difficult to move back.'
Sean Westwood, associate professor at Dartmouth College, noted that AI can now produce coherent answers that mimic real respondents. 'The assumption that someone gives logical answers and is a real person is broken,' he said. He warned that AI could be weaponised to bias political or geopolitical polls while remaining undetectable to standard screening.
YouGov, which uses a random sample method, stated that participants cannot choose surveys, but the broader industry remains vulnerable. Courtney Kennedy of Pew Research Center highlighted that opt-in estimates for under-30s often contain high error rates, as younger people are more adept at concealing their identity online.
The Bible Society has withdrawn its report, but experts fear the damage is done. Voas added: 'Misinformation is very difficult to correct once it spreads, and correcting it requires far more effort than disseminating it.'
