Reddit revealed the strategy adopted to confront the vast production of material generated by artificial intelligence (AI) on its platform: the use of technology itself. The company indicated that automated solutions were decisive in reducing the incidence of spam and vote manipulation.
Recent data released by the social network reveals that an impressive volume of more than 23 million views of spam is blocked every day, before it even reaches users. Additionally, around 25,000 spam publications are identified daily, and exposure to unwanted content fell by 20% in the first three months of this year.
The impact of AI bots also extends to votes, a crucial element for giving visibility to posts and comments on the platform. In the last three months, the social network has recorded the removal of approximately 2 million votes considered artificial per day.
Artificial intelligence as an essential tool in the fight against technology itself
It may sound paradoxical, but artificial intelligence has become Reddit’s main tool to combat AI-produced content. The platform invested in the development of automated systems, equipped with advanced technology, to identify potential signs of spam accounts and act quickly. This scenario reflects a broader struggle faced by several digital platforms against the flood of automated content, positioning Reddit’s strategy as a potential model for other social networks.
Upon detection of potential irregularities, Reddit employs Large Language Models (LLMs) to recognize coordinated patterns of false behavior. These patterns often escape the notice of other moderation systems, but they are crucial for the platform to deactivate fraudulent profiles.
In its incessant battle, Reddit employs its own LLMs to map and eliminate the characteristics of profiles operated by artificial intelligence.
Reddit’s push against “slop” content and the proliferation of bots
Reddit has been engaged in a rigorous fight against the expansion of generative AI for several years, reaffirming its commitment to being a space focused on human interaction. In the early stages of ChatGPT’s success, the platform placed restrictions on access for LLMs looking to collect data for training, but later re-evaluated and relaxed these guidelines.
At the beginning of this year, Steve Huffman, the company’s CEO, announced the implementation of a new account verification system. The measure aims to contain the growing volume of bots. Huffman stressed that while he recognizes the existence of “good bots,” the company’s main focus is to eliminate spam and accounts designed to deceptively simulate human interaction.
