Elon Musk has paused his bid to buy Twitter due to questions over bots. The artificially-operated accounts are now at the heart of the proposed deal’s latest controversy. The software is so commonplace that tech giants such as Meta, Google and Twitter have teams devoted to banishing bots, while cybersecurity firms sell defences against them.
Elon Musk’s pausing of his bid to buy Twitter due to questions over “bots” has put the artificially-operated accounts at the heart of the proposed deal’s latest controversy. The software is so commonplace and can be such a problem that tech giants such as Meta, Google and Twitter have teams devoted to banishing bots and cybersecurity firms sell defenses against them. Here’s a closer look at bots:
Human or software? At a basic level, “bots” are software programmes that interact with online platforms, or their users, pretending to be real people, said Tamer Hassan, co-founder and chief of cybersecurity firm HUMAN. Malicious bots have become sophisticated and are among this decade’s top cyber threats, said Hassan, whose firm specialises in distinguishing people from software online. The term bots at Twitter is often used to describe fake accounts, powered by some version of artificial intelligence, that can fire off posts and even react to what is posted by others, said independent analyst Rob Enderle.
