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.
  • UnspecificGravity@piefed.socialEnglish
    5·
    14 hours ago

    Yep. Hiding post history pretty much makes Reddit useless as anything but a propaganda / astroturfing tool targeting idiots. It used to be pretty easy to identify shills and bots, and the only thing they achieved here is making it hardier to do that. Clearly that was the intent.