We investigate how bots influence human-to-human interaction in online communities. In doing so, we distinguish between reflexive and supervisory bots delegated by community participants and moderators, respectively. We hypothesize that reflexive bot activity will reduce direct reciprocity and increase generalized reciprocity and that supervisory bot activity will reduce preferential attachment among human participants. Through an analysis of almost 70 million posts on the discussion communities on Reddit, a popular platform for online discussions, we found support for the hypotheses.
The Effect of Bots on Human Interaction in Online Communities
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SKU
48.3.15
Publication History
Received: October 10, 2022
Revised: February 2, 2022; October 3, 2022; May 1, 2023
Accepted: December 15, 2023
Published Online in Issue: September 1, 2024
Abstract
Additional Details
| Author | Hani Safadi, John P. Lalor, and Nicholas Berente |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Keywords | Online communities, bots, agentic artifacts, network exchange, reflexive bots, supervisory bots, direct reciprocity, generalized reciprocity, preferential attachment, panel vector autoregression |
| Page Numbers | 1279-1296 |