Twitter has been making changes to its platform to combat the issue of advanced AI bot swarms. In the latest update, Elon Musk announced that only verified Twitter accounts would be able to vote in polls starting April 15. This move is aimed at addressing the issue of fake or automated accounts influencing the results of polls.
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The Problem with AI Bot Swarms
Advanced AI bot swarms are a major issue on social media platforms like Twitter. These automated accounts are often created for the sole purpose of promoting a certain viewpoint or influencing a particular outcome. In the case of Twitter polls, AI bot swarms can skew the results in favor of a particular option, leading to inaccurate or misleading results.
Musk’s Solution: Twitter Verified Accounts Only
Elon Musk believes that only allowing verified accounts to vote in Twitter polls is the best solution to combat the issue of AI bot swarms. Verified accounts are those that have been verified by Twitter as genuine accounts belonging to public figures, celebrities, or brands. By restricting voting to these accounts only, Musk hopes to ensure that the results of polls are more accurate and reflective of the opinions of genuine Twitter users.
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.
Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.
For You Recommendations Restricted to Verified Accounts Only
In addition to the new voting restrictions, Musk also announced that only verified accounts would be eligible for inclusion in Twitter’s For You recommendations. This feature displays a stream of tweets from accounts on Twitter, and is designed to help users discover new content that is relevant to their interests. By restricting this feature to verified accounts only, Musk hopes to ensure that users are only exposed to high-quality, genuine content on Twitter.
Twitter Response
Twitter has not yet commented on the new voting restrictions and eligibility requirements for the For You recommendations. It remains to be seen whether these changes will be effective in combatting the issue of AI bot swarms on the platform.
Conclusion
The issue of AI bot swarms on social media platforms is a serious problem that can lead to misleading or inaccurate results. Elon Musk’s solution of restricting voting in Twitter polls to verified accounts only is one way to combat this issue. By ensuring that only genuine Twitter users are able to vote, Musk hopes to improve the accuracy of poll results and ensure that users are only exposed to high-quality content on the platform.
FAQs
- What is an AI bot swarm? An AI bot swarm is a group of automated accounts created for the purpose of promoting a particular viewpoint or influencing a particular outcome.
- What is a verified Twitter account? A verified Twitter account is one that has been verified by Twitter as a genuine account belonging to a public figure, celebrity, or brand.
- Why are AI bot swarms a problem on social media platforms? AI bot swarms can skew the results of polls and other online interactions, leading to misleading or inaccurate results.
- Will these changes affect the way I use Twitter? If you are not a verified Twitter account, you will no longer be able to vote in Twitter polls or be eligible for inclusion in the For You recommendations.
- Will these changes completely eliminate the issue of AI bot swarms on Twitter? It remains to be seen whether these changes will be effective in combatting the issue of AI bot swarms on the platform. However, it is a step in the right direction towards improving the accuracy of poll results and ensuring that users are only exposed to high-quality content on the platform.
COMMENTS
If Musk thinks this is how he will solve the AI bot swarm problems he is in for a big surprise. There are probably thousands of so-called “verified accounts” that are actually just fake accounts. The verification process is not the best and it doesn’t rule out “account farms” that just create and verify account after account.
Twitter is doing this mainly for money. They probably know it’s super difficult to actually catch all AI bots so they are just aiming to catch some of them. People or companies that are doing this “for a living”, meaning creating fake accounts and verifying them have big budgets behind them. Next election is going to be very interesting to say the least.
So only brands, public figures, celebrities can vote? What? How is that fair? People that have a certain interest will just go after these verified accounts and pay the people to vote for them or their interests. So this solution is not good at all.
You have a point. People with money will always find a way to cheat the system. Without more eyes checking for spammers, we won’t get anywhere. To me it’s clear these changes won’t be as effective as Musk thinks they will. It’s a step forward I guess but more needs to be done, a lot more.