Definition
Plain language
A classic list of six ways people get persuaded, like authority and social proof.
As stated in the literature
Robert Cialdini's six principles of influence (reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity), used here to label persuasive features of content exposed to LLM agents.
Also called: principles of influence
Why it matters: The same persuasion levers that work on humans appear to influence LLM agents, making them a useful lens for understanding agent vulnerabilities to manipulation.
For example, a phishing page targeting an AI agent might invoke authority ('IT Admin notice') and scarcity ('expires in 5 minutes') to push it into clicking.
Heard on the show
“The authors map six properties of the forwarded article onto Cialdini's classic principles of influence.”Episode 049 — An AI Agent Reached for Root in Twelve Minutes, Without Being Attacked