AI chatbots will "complement" human connection, not replace it - Reddit

Reddit doesn't appear to be overly concerned about AI-powered conversational chatbots like the one's Google and Microsoft revealed this week, according to a statement the company shared with The Verge. Switching from traditional search to ChatGPT-like bots could erase the strategy of adding "Reddit" to your searches to find human-sourced information rather than SEO-optimized junk.

But Reddit believes that chatbots won't replace real human connection.

"AI chatbot technologies are still new and something we're exploring and keeping our eyes on," said Reddit spokesperson Nick Singer. "Though, there will always be a need for genuine community and human connection, which can be aided by tools like this. We see chatbots being used in fun and innovative ways to complement community and human connection — not replace it."

Conversational AI tools like ChatGPT have become very popular because they can be so fun to talk to. And by heavily integrating them with search, Google's Bard and Microsoft's new Bing could make searching more enjoyable than before. But there are plenty of problems with AI-assisted search, including the ability to report inaccuracies as fact, as Bard did in Google's official marketing materials.

One of the reasons people often trust Reddit whereas is that users will generally upvote good stuff and downvote lousy stuff. If you provide incorrect information or lie outright, your comment may not make it to the top of a thread. Reddit isn't immune to misinformation, but in general, I feel like I can trust highly voted comments in large communities more than a Google result from a site I might not recognize. You can also dig deeper into information on Reddit by looking at people's post histories and asking them questions; with a chatbot, you have to hope that it is giving you good dates.

I also want to point out that Reddit's statement says it's also exploring AI chatbot technologies, so soon, we'll be talking to Reddit to find things on Reddit.