Reddit moderators might be some of the most unpleasant people to walk this Earth (no, seriously), but even then, they’re a better fit for the platform than some form of artificial intelligence. Reddit evidently thinks differently, seeing as it now lets AI determine whether your post is good enough to stick around or if it breaks the “rules”.
Reddit and weep
On Wednesday, Reddit announced a whole host of changes headed for the platform, including the AI-powered moderator. It wasn’t all bad news, though. The company made it clear that it plans to ditch its over-reliance on ‘karma’ and account ages when it comes to deciding who can post where. Instead, that’ll be up to the moderator.
“We want new users around the world to be able to easily find relevant communities, understand their rules and norms, and make useful contributions. Today, new users can encounter invisible barriers like account age and karma thresholds, unclear removals, and poor community discovery.”
As it points out, those safeguards are in place to prevent spam. But with a non-human entity fairly judging every post that crosses its path… Reddit argues they aren’t necessary. That’s technically correct. Assuming, of course, that the moderator is always acting fairly and for the good of the message board. Even so, karma isn’t going away.
Read More: Reddit users in the UK must provide proof that they’re over eighteen to view “mature content”
If Reddit gets its way, karma’s importance will wane over time — assuming you give it value now. Reddit says it’s expanding its new suite of AI tools, Rules Hub, which replaces the existing auto mod which digs out posts based on specific words. The thinking is for the AI-powered mod to offer more nuance on a case-by-case basis.
“…Moderators will be able to choose which rules should be automatically enforced, decide what happens when a rule is triggered (send to queue, filter, or remove), preview the experience before enabling it, and review logs and insights to understand how community rules are performing.”
The company’s also expanding the abilities of Post & Comment Guidance, a “tool used by thousands of mods to help users better understand community expectations.” It’s specifically talking about ‘Post Flair Guidance’ and ‘Top Comment Check’, which help moderators inform users about rules in their sub or choose a custom flair.
