Bots

Newsgathering

[Page 205]Newsgathering operations use bots to gather stories from specific outlets for distribution on an aggregate website, wherein bots are employed to skim the web for stories. This example is foundational to the functioning of aggregate news websites. One of the primary reasons for the advent of bots is to accomplish the goal of executing repetitive tasks without the need for human operators, as bots are often faster than humans with regard to repetitive tasks. Bots are used to execute workflows without the need for extensive human interaction or oversight, enabling organizations to save money on human labor and capital. Companies use bots for instant chat services that, for example, automate answers to questions for customer support. This ability to execute repetitive tasks in an efficient manner makes bots valuable tools, especially when applied to the Internet and through social media networks. Bots that interact with the Internet sphere are used to comb through data, analyze content on web pages, and interact with human users. Users interact with bots online every time a query is made or an input rendered. With the increase of social media platforms as aggregators of news information and the circulation of news, the interaction between bots as nonhuman actors and human accounts is complicated by a lack of transparency.

Bots spread information to human actors and attempt to push conversations, narratives, news stories, and trending topics in programmed directions. As a kind of AI, voice-activated bots such as Google Assistant or Siri can respond to human prompts and provide answers to questions. While not all bots are manipulative, people can use bots for nefarious purposes such as scamming human users, breaking into accounts, and spreading malware, misinformation, disinformation, or spam. People can use bots to spread “fake news” as well as propagate opinions that masquerade as facts on social media and that ultimately may be true or untrue. Another emergent use for bots in this same vein is to promote products, services, or even currency, such as forex trading, cryptocurrency trading, and mobile and web-based gaming applications. Since bots can often execute functions more efficiently and expediently than human actors, bots are able to buy up or control commodities and deny the ability of the market to service the needs of the consumer as intended. For instance, people can employ bots to auto-buy consumer electronics or other desired retail products, which has been an issue in terms of scarcity caused by a high demand for products such as new video game consoles.

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