Sentences with phrase «social bots»
Social bots refer to automated software programs or artificial intelligence algorithms that are designed to mimic human interactions on social media platforms. These bots can initiate conversations, share content, like posts, and even engage in debates or arguments with users. Their purpose can vary, from spreading propaganda and fake news to influencing opinions or boosting follower counts. They operate behind a facade of human-like behavior, but their actions are controlled by computer coding rather than a real person. Full definition
The use of social bots has gained widespread attention in mass media.
sciencedaily.com
This industry is bolstered by how easy it is to create social bots, fake accounts controlled by software that look like real people and therefore can have real influence.
Besides the «data for policy» community, there are two important research trends shaping the field: 1) computational social science; and 2) the emergence of politicised social bots.
To counteract the arguably unhealthy behavior social bots promote, Allem said public health officials and organizations need to bolster education campaigns.
They identified human users from social bots by analyzing retweets or mentions, ratio of followers to followees, content and level of emotion.
Gray and Gratch say next steps should include measuring not only people's explicit ratings of creepiness, but also their behavior toward social bots.
In response, we developed the BotOrNot tool to detect social bots.
Through use of these features and examples of Twitter bots provided by Texas A&M University professor James Caverlee's infolab, the researchers are able to train statistical models to discriminate between social bots and humans; according to Flammini, the system is quite accurate.
Using predictive features that analyze content, timing and network structure, BotOrNot can uncover Twitter accounts like @StanBieberfan that are most likely --- in this case almost 80 percent — to be social bots rather than human - operated accounts.
«There are many unhealthy choices social bots can promote, and our future research will focus on other areas such as tanning beds, supplements, fad diets or sugary drinks,» Allem said.
The researchers found social bots were more likely to post hashtags where people said they quit smoking as a result of e-cigarette use (#quitsmoking, #health).
Jon - Patrick Allem, lead author of the study, likened social bots to actress Jenny McCarthy and the «vaccinations cause autism» movement, an idea that has been debunked many times but still sticks.
Menczer has been interviewed by The New York Times on the use of social bots to sway elections and was sought out to consult on the topic by writers of the network television series «The Good Wife.»
Flammini and Menczer said it's their belief that these kinds of social bots could be dangerous for democracy, cause panic during an emergency, affect the stock market, facilitate cybercrime and hinder advancement of public policy.
«Are there thousands of social bots?
«We have applied a statistical learning framework to analyze Twitter data, but the «secret sauce» is in the set of more than one thousand predictive features able to discriminate between human users and social bots, based on content and timing of their tweets, and the structure of their networks,» said Alessandro Flammini, an associate professor of informatics and principal investigator on the project.
Complex networks researchers at Indiana University have developed a tool that helps anyone determine whether a Twitter account is operated by a human or an automated software application known as a social bot.
«Social bots can pass on health advice that hasn't been scientifically proven,» Allem said.
Earlier versions of social bots were easy to identify because many posted continuously day and night, but in the arms race between botmakers and bot - detectors they have become harder to identify.
«Social bots may not have the star power of Jenny McCarthy, but what they lack in fame, they make up for in quantity and determination.
Social bots are automated accounts that use artificial intelligence to influence discussions and promote specific ideas or products.
Last October, Merkel urged political parties to refrain from using social bots; all major parties except Alternative für Deutschland agreed.
Researchers found that social bots were two times more likely than humans to promote both new products and the idea that e-cigarettes empower people to quit smoking.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Complex networks researchers at Indiana University have developed a tool that helps anyone determine whether a Twitter account is operated by a human or an automated software application known as a social bot.
Menczer has been interviews by The New York Times on the use of social bots to sway elections and was sought out to consult on the topic by writers of the network television series «The Good Wife.»