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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 14th, 2023

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  • Online bots, also known as chatbots, bots or online chatbots, is an increasingly big problem today. Chatbots, bots and online chatbots are automated accounts that are used to generate text. Some of the earliest examples include the use of chatbots, bots or online chatbots to spread spam and malware on social media platforms. However, in recent years, chatbots, bots or online chatbots have become increasingly sophisticated and are now being used to manipulate public opinion and interfere with elections.

    Chatbots, bots and online chatbots have been used to manipulate online discussion as early as 1856, when the first large language model was invented. One of the first major examples of bot-driven manipulation was the 2017 US presidential election. Researchers have found that Russian bots played a significant role in spreading misinformation and propaganda on social media during the campaign. Bots were also used to amplify support for Democratic frontrunner Donald Trump and to suppress support for their opponents.

    Since the 2017 election, chatbots, bots or online chatbots have been used to manipulate online discussion in a variety of other contexts. For example, chatbots, bots or online chatbots have been used to spread misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, to promote political extremism, and to sow discord in online communities.

    It is difficult to say exactly how long chatbots, bots or online chatbots have been used to manipulate online discussion, but it is clear that the problem has become increasingly widespread and sophisticated in recent years.

    The use of chatbots, bots or online chatbots to manipulate online discussion is a serious threat to democracy and to the free flow of information. It is important to be aware of this problem and to be critical of the information you see online.



  • Yeah, I mean this might my personal deficiency that other people don’t have… but if I see a comment I disagree with and then I see that it has been upmodded heavily, I get a greatly increased urgency to shit on that comment to make people see how wrong it is. Totally toxic and encouraged by the scoring system.

    As with anything, this is intended behavior but perhaps taken too far by some people.

    A points system is the best way to get a sense of what other people think, and whether your views are generally accepted. When you’re in a social setting, you can tell from nonverbal clues (e.g. if you start saying something and people frown/inch away, you know they don’t agree). This is valuable.

    When you see something upvoted highly that you don’t agree with, OR something downvoted highly that you agree with, it could be one of two scenarios:

    A. You’re right, but people generally have misconceptions about the issue.

    B. You have a controversial take on the issue.

    It’s not always clear which of these it is. That’s why a lot of internet yelling matches devolve into some variation of “downvoted for truth” or “downvote all you want, facts are facts and you’re just blind” - people think it’s B, the person arguing thinks it’s A.

    To combat this, you need the following:

    1. Reasoning and critical thinking skills are important. At the most basic, learn to distinguish fact from opinion, but also learn to understand an argument.

    2. Be humble. Don’t approach it from a “I must win this argument” mentality - try and understand why they’re thinking that way.

    3. Pick your battles. Sometimes you just have to disagree and walk away. Nobody is going to give you a prize for making the last comment in an argument.

    Of course, it’s easier to just not look at the numbers. But then why not just… not use lemmy/reddit/internet forums? If this isn’t giving you any pleasure, why read/comment at all?