According to what's known as "dead internet theory"—once a fringe idea that has gained traction in recent years—data science researchers now estimate that a significant portion of Internet traffic, as much as 60 percent, comes from bots. A bot is a type of software that automatically performs tasks or interacts with people online in ways that usually mimic human behavior, and they are practically everywhere. The speed, volume, and ease with which AI allows the propagation of content means that this number will likely grow.

Nevertheless, there's synthetic content everywhere we go online. That spicy social media comment thread on politics? Likely, social bots are participating, deployed to drive engagement with the........

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