Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has mentioned that the platform is being spammed by AI bots, and is now in “an arms race” to detect and block these faux posts.
The irony right here is that the very motive Reddit is being focused by bots is as a result of the corporate sells entry to consumer posts for AI coaching …
Reddit lets AI bots harvest consumer posts
Issues kicked off early final 12 months when Reddit signed a $60M deal to permit consumer posts to be harvested for AI coaching. The corporate concerned was subsequently revealed to be Google.
To guard that deal, Reddit began denying entry to different corporations, not simply AI coaching bots but additionally net crawlers, which means that solely Google would be capable to index the location.
And is now being spammed by AI bots
One of many many issues with permitting consumer posts for use for AI coaching is that corporations need their merchandise and types to seem in chatbot outcomes. Since Reddit types a key a part of the coaching materials for Google’s AI, then one efficient method to make that occur is to spam Reddit.
Huffman has confirmed to the Monetary Occasions that that is occurring, with corporations utilizing AI bots to create faux posts within the hope that the content material will probably be regurgitated by chatbots.
“For 20 years, we’ve been combating individuals who have needed to be widespread on Reddit,” Huffman mentioned. “We index very nicely into the various search engines. If you wish to present up in the various search engines, you attempt to do nicely on Reddit, and now the LLMs, it’s the identical factor. If you wish to be within the LLMs, you are able to do it by means of Reddit.”
A number of advert company execs confirmed to the FT that they’re certainly “posting content material on Reddit to spice up the chance of their advertisements showing within the responses of generative AI chatbots.”
Huffman says that AI bots are more and more getting used to make these spam posts, and Reddit is making an attempt to dam them.
For Huffman, success comes down to creating positive that posts are “written by people and voted on by people […] It’s an arms race, it’s a by no means ending battle.”
The corporate is exploring various new methods to do that, together with the World ID eyeball–scanning system being touted by OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
9to5Mac’s Take
Reddit customers had been already sad about their posts being bought as AI coaching materials, so to find that the rising spambot downside on the platform stems immediately from this deal is definitely not going to assist. It is a downside solely of Reddit’s personal making.
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