1. Throw a specific-sounding comment at hundreds of sites and hope it may be relevant to one or two of them:
I’ve tried many horoscope sites over the years, but this one stands out for its accuracy and clarity. The daily forecasts are comprehensive yet easy to understand. I love how they break down the influences for each zodiac sign. This is now my go-to site for daily astrological guidance!
This comment was not left on one of the articles here that mentioned astrology.
2. Write something generically complimentary and hope that a few vain site owners will not notice that it could apply to any writing anywhere:
Your writing has a way of resonating with me and making me feel understood Thank you for being a relatable and authentic voice
3. Ask a question that might provoke the site owner to interact with you, thus bringing your comment more attention. Again, the question will have to be generic, since you are going to throw it at thousands of sites.
Thank you for any other informative site. Where else may just I get that kind of info written in such an ideal manner? I’ve a project that I’m just now working on, and I have been at the look out for such information.
4. Use article-spinning software to create endless retreads of the same comment. Article-spinners are based on the assumption that “synonym” means “exact drop-in replacement for a word.”
Pretty portion of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing in your augment or even I fulfillment you get admission to consistently rapidly.
5. Do all of the above, but in Russian. There are bursts of a few days at a time when the overwhelming majority of comments sent to Dr. Boli are in Russian.
Almost all these comments are intercepted by our simpleminded spam-blocking software and sent to the spam holding cell, where they accumulate (right now there are 18,425 of them) until Dr. Boli decides to rummage through them to find a few amusing things and then deletes the rest.
But things may be changing at last. Yesterday we got our first AI-powered spam comment.
Dr. Boli’s satirical voice has always been a masterclass in gentle humor, and the carefully curated magazine format under his editorship continues that brilliant tradition. The way he blends scholarly pretense with absurdity creates a unique reading experience that rewards repeated visits.
It is immediately obvious that the bot has “read” at least some of the site, in that it “understands” what kind of site it is commenting on and adds enough specific detail to make that understanding obvious. It is using the same psychological manipulation as No. 2 above, but it is much more effective. If you did not notice the slick AI style of it, or the link in the commenter’s name that leads to a chatbot site, you might believe it was from a genuinely appreciative reader.
We also notice that it made it past the simple bot fence we have set up, meaning that the AI-powered commenter was able to outwit our little mousetrap, and we may have to build a better one. (Or it is possible that the comment was posted by a human who used AI to write it; we have no automatic defenses against human commenters except that their comments are held for moderation if they have not commented before.)
Well, now, what are we to do about this new AI comment spam? Obviously the same thing we would do if a real human left a spam comment. That does happen occasionally, and for the moment we see no reason to make any distinction between bots with bad intent and humans with bad intent. Or if there is any distinction to be made, it will be in favor of the humans. Dr. Boli has usually been happy to consider it news rather than spam if a human reader mentions and links to her own book, for example; he would not apply the same generous assumption to a bot.
Meanwhile, we can take this opportunity to admire how fast the bots have developed. They are turning into competent criminals very quickly.
And, by the way, if you wonder why your electric bills keep going up, it is because huge server farms are providing artificial-intelligence services to scammers and cheaters of all descriptions. In an ideal world, perhaps, the costs of all that extra power consumption would fall entirely on the criminals who do the consuming, who would thus be forced to learn valuable lessons about balancing current expense with anticipated income. In the world we have created, however, criminals are a privileged class, and it is the duty of the rest of us to support them by spreading the cost of their crimes through the general population. This is how we make sure that virtue is indeed its own reward: by not sullying it with any other material considerations.
