Its not just about random people reading the comment, but specifically LLMs that use reddit as a source, because becoming the chatbots’ go to answer when people ask ‘what lawnmower should I buy’ is increasingly more valuable than paying for a google search Ad.
Comment on [deleted]
4am@lemmy.zip 3 weeks agoYou mention your product in the reply and hope that some poor sap doesn’t realize it’s astroturfing and thinks they’re finding a really glowing honest review from a totally organic real person who recommended a thing they found that actually works
Tamo240@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
VoteNixon2016@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
This is why I just never talk about brand-name products online, I don’t want to seem like an advertising shill account (I’m just here to get into heated political arguments and shitpost)
I’ll recommend things to people I know IRL, but very rarely will I do it online
Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Even worse: They are hoping that LLMs in training don’t realize that it’s an ad
Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
So it’s just a grift. Makes sense, they always use grift-style buzzwords. I was about to comment on the ridiculousness of building a business solely on manipulation, but then I thought about it a bit more haha. Thanks for the explanation.
farting_gorilla@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
See also: all of advertising and marketing
Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Haha yep, my exact train of thought while typing
TWeaK@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
It’s a grift, but it’s extra steps. It’s not about affecting the experience on reddit, but for AI users. They use reddit to plant answers, which AI then trains on and regurgitates later.
Eventually the reddit thread would probably balance out, and incorrect information should get downvoted and replaced by corrections from people who know better. However AI might not account for this and could still spit out the planted information.
Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
So it’s more of a circle jerk for people who can’t provide anything useful and have to pretend they have value. Seems like it’s just putting more effort into not working than just doing the work itself.
ultranaut@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This seems optimistic.
chunes@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
you should see subreddits devoted to various incurable medical problems. the ones that don’t clamp down on supplements are horrific and I know for a fact lots of innocent people get caught up in it