How 1,000 Bot Comments Can Corrupt Your Perception of Reality

Some extra words that I wrote… hey, what’s in here!Don’t do it!Don’t be one of those people who sees a title and says, “I wonder what the general public thinks of this article?”Don’t be a person who scrolls past the content, goes directly to the comments and exclaims, “Wow, everybody disagrees with this writer! Good thing I didn’t waste my time reading whatever she wrote!”No, no, no, you’ve just been duped! You’ve unknowingly surrendered your free will! In a world where almost everyone claims they’re worried about the impact of artificial intelligence, you’ve just fallen for a bot scam older and more widespread than an email promising you the fortune of a Saudi Arabian prince.“After you send me $500, I’ll be able to unlock my bank account and transfer $10 million to you.”“Okay!”Don’t chortle. The thing about scammers is that they’re very good at what they do. Even if you manage to avoid giving up $500 of your hard-earned money, there’s another commodity that most people surrender without any awareness of what they’re giving up: Their perception of reality.Artificial Intelligence isn’t going to kick down your door, hold you hostage, and tell you what to think. That’s not how the attack is going to look. Force is not effective. The real assaults are going to be far more subtle. AI isn’t going to use noise and intimidation. Instead, AI is going to slide into your DMs. Chances are, it’s already happened.The cumulative effect of subtle influenceSurvival requires us to interact with the world based on the data we get from our senses and the assumptions we’ve developed through experience.However, this is an exploitable system. Through subtle repetition, we can easily be tricked into dismissing connections that would benefit us.Remember the old expression, “Don’t believe everything you read?” Today it’s more relevant than ever.The reason this is an area of vulnerability is because human beings are not well-equipped to perceive the link between harmful actions and their long-term consequences.For example, I would like to lose 20 pounds. I also like to eat chocolate chip cookies. Because the negative consequences of eating chocolate chip cookies is displaced from the immediate pleasure of gobbling them up, I find it’s very easy to justify having a cookie.That’s an example of how we manipulate ourselves into actions that are ultimately against our best interests. Human beings are particularly vulnerable to what seems to be inconsequential behavior.“Oh, it’s just one cookie.”“Oh, I’ll just read the comments and skip the article.”Modern readers must be aware that subjecting yourself to the seemingly inconsequential act of reading bot comments can have a cumulative effect over time. That’s how erosion works.Flooding good articles with false comments is a way to manipulate public perception. This happens all the time to the detriment of society. The internet is a giant example of the boiling frog syndrome.Deliberate vs. passive data harvestingIt’s tempting to dismiss the impact of bot comments, “Oh, I can recognize those comments as false and they don’t have any influence on me.”Perhaps if the comment passes through your consciousness that’s true. But what’s the impact of bot comments that you glance at passively? It’s very difficult to look at words and not read them. The message is getting in.Sometimes I see a cookie and I think, “Oh, I’m on a diet, I’m not going to eat that.” When that happens, I feel good about myself. However, I also have to recognize that if I’m preoccupied with my thoughts and I pass by a tray of cookies, chances are I’m going to grab one and eat it without being consciously aware of my actions.We do a lot of things in life based on assumptions from data that was gathered deliberately and data that was gathered passively. This is why advertisers worry about concepts like brand recognition.The simple fact is that, whether we’re aware of it or not, the things we see have an impact on what we believe and how we behave.If you read enough bot comments, you’re going to start thinking like a bot.It’s difficult to defend an unpopular opinionThis is where things start to get even more complicated. Writers have an obligation to defend unpopular truths and work to dismantle commonly held misconceptions. It’s a brave thing to face a crowd of people and tell them that they are wrong. It’s much easier to go along with what the crowd believes.It’s an uphill battle to change how people think, even when those people are committed to harmful actions.“Cookies aren’t good for you!”“But we LOVE cookies!”The other side of this is that not everybody who opposes the majority does so for the right reasons. Just as there are good people who try to influence the masses into doing something right, there are bad people who try to influence the masses into doing something awful.“Don’t believe the lies he’s telling about cookies! He just wants more cookies for himself!”Enter the botsArtificial Intelligence looks at this scenario and thinks, “Ah-ha, there’s an opportunity! This writer is trying to present herself as the voice of reason. However, if I flood the comment section with a thousand negative comments, she’ll instead be perceived as a fanatic!”So, that’s what they do.I see this kind of thing both in my own writing and in articles I peruse on social media. It feels like every single time I click on a scandalous headline, I find the comments reflect the exact opposite sentiment from what I anticipated.I’m always left wondering, “Do people really think that, or is it just the bots?”Part of the problem is that social media is designed to allow readers to skip over the content of articles. Think about it. Most social media feeds show only the title and the on-platform comments. You have to leave the platform to go and read the article and no platform wants that.Therefore, just by passive scrolling, you’re allowing your brain to be rewired on any number of subjects. If you only read titles followed by a small selection of comments, you’re basically handing over the keys to your brain.Don’t surrender your autonomy without a fight!I brought up this topic with a writer friend of mine recently and he gave me a skeptical look, “Why would anyone go to all that effort?”“Because it works!” I said. “You’ve heard about the Russian bot farms that influenced the election. That’s just the tip of the iceberg! The cumulative effect of eroding public acceptance of good ideas can be leveraged for enormous profit. Posting thousands of false comments on social media is just one tactic. I’m sure there are many more that nobody has identified.”“Huh,” my friend said. He didn’t look convinced, but he looked nervous and I think that’s nearly as good (maybe better).It’s a virtual guarantee that, one way or another, malicious bots have influenced your perception of reality. They’ve succeeded because some lines of assault are so subtle that you don’t even perceive them as a threat.Even if a comment seems to come from somebody you know, there’s a chance it’s a cloned account.Think about this the next time the title of an article comes floating across your perception like a tray full of cookies. People don’t give resources away for free. The truth is they’re purchasing a product, and if it seems like you’re getting something for free, that means the product is you.You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI'm so happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe