If we can use that on politicians (not even manipulation, just decoding), things could get interesting in a hurry...
I think we have to assume that "persuasion-at-scale" is already on the way - I mean we know as a fact that it's happening today via political interests astroturfing social media movements. Soon enough your personal AI assistant will start to subtly manipulate you as well, if this hasn't already begun. This will challenge democracy in an entirely new way; if your technology can reliably alter the political beliefs of say 75% of its users in whatever direction you desire, is voting still a meaningful representation of individual interests?
We must assume that in the next decade or two the concept of free will itself could be challenged by increasingly sophisticated and personalized persuasion technology.
Idk, I think bullshitting people works just too damn well anyhow. Doesn't even have to be sophisticated.
The implied message is that things can't get that much worse, that some practical saturation point is about you be reached. But today our daily movements are being tracked by cell networks and license plate readers, and much of what we type or view online becomes individualized dossiers.
I think the same pattern applies here: If it seems like it can't get (much) worse, then somebody's not imagining hard enough.