THE RISE OF THE BOTS & ARE WE REAL?

As tech industry and marketing professionals, we’re all too familiar with the problem of bots on social media platforms. From fake accounts to automated posts, bots have become an increasingly pervasive issue for crypto projects in particular. Last year, the issue even managed to distract the Daily Fail from Harry and Meghan, briefly, thanks to Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase, and all the bot-related drama that went with it.

Crypto is an open target

Now, as you’ve probably noticed, the bot problem is especially problematic when it comes to the crypto space. The rapid evolution of crypto, with new projects appearing daily, makes it an easy target for those behind the bots. After all, how are even the savviest of users supposed to spot fake or manipulative content, when there are no real established benchmarks for much of it? Illustrating the scale of the issue, back in 2021, bot fraud was already reckoned to be costing over $3 billion per year - and that is probably a huge understatement because much of it probably isn’t easily detected.

Of course, one of the most common problems with these malicious bots is their ability to manipulate online conversations by generating false engagement or creating spammy content that can negatively impact user experience and brand reputation. We’ve seen this repeatedly happen over recent years, especially on Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social networks where scammers use AI-driven “bot farms” to promote fraudulent ICOs or pump up prices of certain tokens through coordinated buying campaigns.

But, bots are getting more sophisticated, rapidly. Just this morning, CoinTelegraph reported that two crypto projects, namely blockchain advertising solution SaTT, and TokenBot (oh, the irony), have alleged that token airdrops conducted on their behalf by CoinMarketCap (CMC) were “gamed” with the help of bots. Apparently, while the tokens in question were supposed to be distributed to tens of thousands of wallets, most of them were diverted to just a handful - the fraud netting substantial gains for the abusers. And, it seems these aren’t isolated incidents either, with SaTT claiming it found 18 other token or NFT airdrops conducted by CMC since July 2022 that were suspicious.

The bot arms race

Fortunately, when it comes to the more basic bot tactics, there are steps being taken by platform owners like Google and Twitter to combat this threat through improved detection algorithms as well as stricter rules against deceptive practices such as impersonation accounts or targeted advertising campaigns aimed at vulnerable users who may not understand how cryptocurrency works yet. Indeed, Musk has very much made a point of eliminating bots from Twitter, and the general consensus seems to be he has succeeded to an impressive extent - though not entirely, and it may be a short-lived reprieve.

Additionally, some startups are developing solutions specifically designed for blockchain-based systems which leverage machine learning models trained on large datasets so they can better identify suspicious activity before it happens – something which will be essential if we want our digital assets to remain safe from manipulation attempts going forward into 2023 and beyond.

But even though progress has been made in terms of detecting bot activity more effectively than ever before - especially since the introduction of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies - it remains unclear whether these measures will ultimately be enough when faced with sophisticated adversaries who continually develop new ways circumvent existing security protocols every day? Will AI eventually make things worse rather than better?

What seems clear is that we're already in a sort of bots arms race, with projects trying to harness the latest tech to stop the latest tech. Of course, in most real arms races, whether it be the Kaiser’s Germany trying to take on the British Empire prior to World War 1, or NATO versus the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War, it's usually the side that spends the most that is victorious. But, in the new open-source decentralised world, knowledge is cheaper than ever (in monetary terms), so perhaps things will pan out differently.

Are bots actually running the show?

One last thought. The idea that we may be living in a simulated reality has been around for some time now. Put simply it suggests that our entire universe (or at least ours) might be just an elaborate computer program created by an advanced civilization from another world or dimension. If true, this would mean that everything from quantum physics to human behavior could all be programmed into existence – essentially turning us all into characters inside someone else's video game! I mean, we’ve all noticed the NPCs, right?

There’s a train of thought that says we are more likely living in a simulation than not, because the moment any civilisation can build a realistic simulation, they probably will. After all, wouldn’t we? And, once one has been created, there will probably be more. Hence, there are likely more simulated realities than real ones. Logic then says, our reality is more likely a simulation than a real one. You get where I’m going here? Oh yes, if we’re in a simulation, then you can bet your bottom dollar bots are manipulating things! It sure could explain a lot.

Righty, I should finish my breakfast.