Why are AI bots posting links for Altman's World ID?

An investigation into the AI bots that appeared on Reddit after they partnered with OpenAI.

Key points:

  • The bots post a lot of links to products and services which appear to be adverts but are not marked as such.
  • Many of these links are for Sam Altman’s World ID.
  • Reddit added terms on AI advertising to their business page around the time the bots appeared.
  • The bots also make up stories about dead mothers, depression, drug addiction, eating disorders, medical conditions and mental health issues.
    • DocumentingDecline@lemmy.mlOP
      4·
      5 hours ago

      Reddit has always had a bot problem but of the more than 50 AI bot accounts explored for this article all became active after Reddit partnered with OpenAI. Every account found that matched this pattern of behavior became active during this period. e.g. Same links posted by them.

      Additionally during this period Reddit added terms on AI advertising to their business page and the partnership announcement with OpenAI says they became an advertising partner.