How to Think About Bots
This botfesto is a statement by a bunch of bot creators about how we interact with bots. Not just amusing twitter bots, but to algorithms and programs that glue much of our present world together.
One aspect they talk about is that some bots may be more approachable if we don’t always see them as human. But even so, the semi-autonomous nature of bots raises ethical and design challenges.
Bots have been used to predict the spread of disease, make political points, amuse readers, perform journalism, keep an eye on Congress, and spread propaganda. Bots have bought drugs and accidentally made death threats.
There’s been a lot of bloviating thinkpieces about the threat of future Artificial Intelligence, or the trolley-problem ethics of self-driving cars, mostly by people who apparently haven’t ever tried to build AI or interact with a bot. Meanwhile, the actual threats and opportunities in our semi-autonomous software are overlooked. In contrast, “How to Think About Bots,” takes a long look at the bots that are presently among us, some of which may have already shaped your life.