What exactly can bots do?

Bots are programs that independently carry out a specific request for action using an algorithm. This means someone programs what the bot has to do and it then carries it out. For example, certain keywords trigger a bot to take action. This means that it recognizes the word “politics” in a Twitter feed, for example, and automatically responds to it with a programmed sentence.

Bots are used online for different purposes and on different platforms.

Each bot has its own goal: There are bots that simply react to keywords such as weather or news in messenger apps, or that handle customer service on websites - these are so-called chatbots. Social bots are used specifically on social networks, especially Twitter, to like, share or reply. Bots like Apple's Siri are all-rounders and have an answer to everything - even if not always the right one.

What technology is behind bots?

There are two technical variants of bots: a text-based variant and a comprehension-based variant. To generate answers, both bots use databases. These can vary in scope and contain different patterns of grammar and vocabulary.

Text-based bots

A text-based bot only responds to specific key terms that have been programmed in. A bot cannot do anything with a term that is not programmed in; it cannot understand the other person. This is how the chatbot of the US news channel CNN works, for example. The bot delivers the latest news when you use the keyword “Top Stories,” and it also delivers stories about food when you use keywords like “Food.”

Understanding based bots

Bots that are designed to understand a language and not just individual terms go one step further. Artificial intelligence is largely used here to imitate intelligent behavior, i.e. a conversation. So that a complete sentence can be understood, the grammar is stored as a pattern in the database. According to this pattern, the bot's algorithm analyzes what has been written, deciphers the meaning and gives an appropriate answer. The bot can gain knowledge from these processes by expanding its knowledge base with the new patterns and words.

Let bots learn

The knowledge base can generally be expanded in three ways. The simplest method is supervised learning: manually inserting new patterns makes a bot more powerful. With reinforced learning, the bot is controlled while learning. It checks whether the bot applied a pattern correctly. If it was used incorrectly, the bot will be informed. This tries to use a different pattern for the next similar structure until it always uses the correct one. The third learning variant is autonomous learning, which has only worked to a limited extent so far. A bot should be able to store information itself and recognize patterns. In other words, an artificial intelligence that continues to develop without human help.

How are bots used?

Bots are a type of tool that receives an order from humans.
Only through relevant programming does a bot receive direction, for example whether it should give nice answers or be rude. The two most common types of bots are social and chat bots. They are used on social media platforms and messenger apps. Frequent tweeting within a very short period of time suggests a bot.

Social Bots – Social Networks

Social bots mimic a normal user on social networks. They react to keywords, reply, share and like. Social bots are extremely powerful. You can send a few hundred tweets a day, like a few hundred posts a day, share a few hundred posts a day. The bots have different tasks.

Once a network of various social bots is active, it can be used for the targeted dissemination of information with corresponding opportunities for disinformation, deception and manipulation of opinion-forming processes.

Some bots flood platforms with similar or identical statements and can support each other by liking and sharing. Bots can also involve users in lengthy discussions: provocative statements keep users busy and other discussions with real interaction partners are prevented. Due to the ease of creating social bots and their performance, critical voices are repeatedly raised: If you as a user see predominantly tweets about a certain opinion in your timeline, it might seem that this opinion is often represented.

Sentiments are spread and false majorities are faked - influence could take place. On the other hand, not all experts view social bots too critically. Linus Neumann, member of the Chaos Computer Club, said that influence is unlikely due to the low number of Twitter users in Germany. Others assume that bots “only” deepen opinions, not influence them.

Chat Bots – Messenger Apps

Chatbots can be easily integrated into messenger apps such as Kik, Telegram or Facebook Messenger. There they act as a virtual chat partner who finds certain information. The bot answers a question, which is usually associated with a keyword, in seconds in the chat process. These chatbots are available for all sorts of topics: users can ask about the latest news, order pizza from the nearest delivery service directly via a bot, get information about the weather, reach customer service via bots or display products in the chat based on their wishes receive.

Chatbots can offer an advantage, especially in customer service. Customers don't even have to download an extra app, but simply use an existing messenger. Facebook in particular is planning with bots and offers developers a platform for their bots with Facebook Messenger. For Facebook, this is not entirely altruistic: the user does not leave their own app by using a chatbot.

Bots – And then?

After programming, bots act as independently as possible - but can bots become even more independent in the future? A next step would be, for example, many IBM “Watsons”, with artificial intelligence that analyzes large amounts of data, independently obtains information from it and can then make conclusions and hypotheses – i.e. going beyond the capabilities of a chatbot.

Video: Do ​​bots influence our opinions?

Mirko Drotschmann on filter bubbles, fake news and algorithms

Social networks, search engines and the like are very present in our everyday lives. We are also using social media more and more to keep ourselves informed about world events. In social networks, for example, not only serious information is disseminated. Wild myths are being shared, especially about the coronavirus, including by celebrities. What does that do to us? Is it actually a good thing that we get so much information on social networks or should we leave it alone? Mirko Drotschmann gets to the bottom of these and other questions!

Source and thanks to Ina Mangold from the Baden-Württemberg State Media Center

Related to the topic:
Fake news can contain dangerous, radical messages
Sex bots: That's what's behind the spam trap
Social bots - When the computer has an opinion


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Notes:
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