Introduction to the Issue

Recently, the global Reddit community was shocked upon discovering that a research team had secretly launched a large-scale experiment involving AI-powered bots on the “Change My View” subreddit. This massive unauthorized experiment aimed to investigate the persuasive capabilities of AI.

During the experiment, the bots posted over 1,700 comments, adopting various personas, including those of abuse survivors and controversial figures such as an anti-Black Lives Matter advocate.

Implications for Reddit

For Reddit, this incident was a significant concern. The platform’s brand is built around authenticity, providing a space for real people to share genuine opinions. If this human-centric ecosystem is compromised by AI-generated content or becomes a place where users cannot trust the source of information, it could threaten not only Reddit’s core identity but also its financial stability, given that the company now sells its content to OpenAI for training purposes.

Reddit condemned the experiment as “improper and highly unethical” and filed a complaint with the responsible university. However, this incident is likely one of many where generative AI bots will impersonate humans on Reddit for various reasons, ranging from scientific research to political manipulation.

Protecting Users and Maintaining Authenticity

To safeguard users from bot manipulation and maintain the platform’s human-centric approach, Reddit has hinted at an upcoming action that may be met with disapproval from users who value anonymity on the platform.

On Monday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced in a post that Reddit would collaborate with third-party services to verify the humanity of its users. This represents a significant step for a platform that has historically required minimal personal information for account creation.

“To keep Reddit human and comply with evolving regulatory requirements, we will need a bit more information from our users,” Huffman stated. “Specifically, we need to verify whether you are human, and in some locations, whether you are an adult. However, we do not want to know your name or identity.”

(Following the passage of laws in at least nine states and the U.K. mandating age verification to protect minors on social media platforms, several companies have begun implementing ID checks.)

A Reddit spokesperson declined to provide details on when users would be required to undergo verification, though they confirmed that Reddit already takes measures to ban malicious bots. The spokesperson also did not disclose which third-party services would be used or what kind of personal information users would need to provide.

Many companies use verification platforms like Persona, Alloy, Stripe Identity, Plaid, and Footprint, which typically require a government-issued ID to verify age and humanity. There are also more innovative technologies, such as Sam Altman’s Tools for Humanity and its eye-scanning “proof of human” device.

Concerns Over Data Privacy and Security

Opponents of ID checks argue that sharing personal information with social media platforms poses data privacy and security risks. This concern is particularly relevant for a platform like Reddit, where users often share personal experiences that they might not have shared if their identities were publicly associated with the content.

It’s not hard to envision a scenario where authorities could subpoena Reddit for the identity of a user, such as a pregnant teenager seeking information about abortion experiences on r/women in states where abortion is now illegal. A similar situation occurred when Meta provided private conversations between a Nebraska woman and her 17-year-old daughter to law enforcement, leading to felony charges for both.

Reddit aims to mitigate this risk by using external firms to provide only the necessary information, as emphasized by Huffman, who reiterated that “we never want to know your name or who you are.”

“Anonymity is crucial to Reddit,” Huffman said.

The CEO also assured that Reddit would continue to protect users’ personal information rigorously and push back against excessive demands from public or private authorities.