Social Media As We Know It Is Dead And AI Killed It

Authenticity in today’s world has become a rare commodity.

The advent of AI and its ability to replicate human behavior in text-based conversations, posts, and comments has led to an influx of inauthentic content and interactions. The line between AI and human engagement has blurred, leaving users struggling to distinguish between genuine human interaction and AI-generated content.

Platforms like X have been plagued by AI bots for years, flooding feeds with images of celebrities and other content that is not only inauthentic but also misleading. A quick scroll through your Facebook feed will yield dozens of AI generated posts that are loaded with comments of people who are seemingly unaware that they are viewing an AI image.

This phenomenon poses a real threat to the social media landscape, forcing users to question the legitimacy of the connections they form online. As AI continues to advance and infiltrate social media platforms, there is a growing need for authentic communities of real people.

The best solution to this problem is the implementation of a paywall on social media platforms, which is exactly what Gab and several other platforms are doing. While it is not a foolproof method, it can be an effective way to ensure that users interacting on a platform are, in fact, real people. By requiring a financial commitment from users, platforms can create an environment that fosters genuine connections and interactions. It also significantly raises the cost of bot operators conducting spam and psychological operations with AI, which will greatly reduce their attack surface and effectiveness.

Elon Musk’s plan to charge new users $1 on his social media platform X aims to combat automated spam bot accounts. This initiative requires new users in countries like New Zealand and the Philippines to pay a $1 annual fee to unlock basic features like posting and interacting with other users. Musk believes that this fee is essential to make it significantly harder for bots to manipulate the platform while maintaining accessibility for real users. The move is part of Musk’s broader strategy to revamp X as a subscription-focused platform.

Telegram also offers a subscription service called Telegram Premium, which allows users to support the platform’s development and access exclusive additional features. Telegram Premium provides benefits like doubled limits, 4 GB file uploads, faster downloads, exclusive stickers, and reactions. This subscription model aims to fund the development of resource-heavy features while ensuring free access to the core messenger service for all users. 

Gab is taking a similar approach with our GabPRO subscription service which unlocks the ability to upload media, schedule posts, and get access to analytics on your posts among other features. Another perk is that when you see a GabPRO account you know it’s a real human being and not AI.

A few months back we experimented with AI profiles on the Gab platform. The overwhelming feedback from our community was that they wanted to interact with other people, not AI on social media. So we listened to the Gab community and moved the AI bots to their own dedicated platform called Gab AI. We agree with the Gab Social community that our platform should be reserved for real people.

As users become more aware of the prevalence of AI on these platforms, the demand for real, human-to-human connections will only grow. The implementation of a paywall for parts of social networks is the first step in preserving the integrity of social media and ensuring that users have the ability to engage with one another in an authentic and meaningful way.

I discussed all of this and more in today’s podcast episode which you can listen to here.