Evidence is no longer evidence, and conversation is no longer conversation. Someone with an agenda can spin up a hundred chatbots to ‘particopate’ in online discussion, and make certain positions appear mainstream and others appear marginal, simply by steering the discussion.
My worry is it means the end of useful online discourse, because why bother having conversations of substance online when it’s as likely as not that your conversation partner is just a machine trying to steer your opinion in one direction or the other.
Evidence is no longer evidence, and conversation is no longer conversation. Someone with an agenda can spin up a hundred chatbots to ‘particopate’ in online discussion, and make certain positions appear mainstream and others appear marginal, simply by steering the discussion. My worry is it means the end of useful online discourse, because why bother having conversations of substance online when it’s as likely as not that your conversation partner is just a machine trying to steer your opinion in one direction or the other.