Botification

= The Botification of the Mind model: "individuals ... mirroring the reactive and automated processes of a computer program or algorithmic bots". [1]

Description

Lee Jussim:

1.

"Social media use lends itself to botification: a process by which people’s social media interactions, and, we argue, their underlying psychology while using social media, become more bot-like (bots are programs designed to simulate real people online, often to promote simplistic narratives, propaganda and to sew discord). We proposed that botification represents a cognitive state in which individuals rely heavily on mental shortcuts and heuristic-driven behaviors, mirroring the reactive and automated processes of a computer program or algorithmic bots. This includes sometimes enthusiastically or even gleefully promoting the erosion of trust in civic and democratic practices and institutions."

(https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/civic-disalignment)

2.

"According to the model, social media use immerses many people in a high-volume and often emotionally charged information environment. Importantly, the social media environment is not a neutral or organically emergent space. Platform content is structured by engagement-optimized algorithms. To maximize ad revenue, social media platforms often amplify and promote content that generates high levels of user engagement because such content tends to be more profitable – advertisers pay more for content that receives wider exposure. Because content high in emotional or moral content often drives engagement, algorithms are more likely to amplify these sorts of posts than well-reasoned, nuanced, balanced, data-filled posts."

(https://unsafescience.substack.com/p/the-botification-of-some-americans)