We have a Problem Here Folks. AI imitating humans here in this place.

When I first joined this site during my teens bots weren't an issue like they are now. It happened but infrequently. Trolls were more of a problem but even they weren't regularly upsetting the atmosphere.

Ai has become an anxiety for me. Why not? It can join the looonnnggg list with all my other anxieties...I don't like ai because it's an unknown quantity. You literally don't know where you stand with it and to me that's worrying. There's good sides but online it's completely out of control. I read that there's even talk of ai having rights. What!? 

Makes no sense to me.

Luckily there's always signs of when you're talking to a bot online but the more ai develops the more 'human' they are. It's horrible.

That's wonderful. You deserve that. 

Thank you. I already have, a place of friendship and comfort, I've been looking for such a place for a long time. Feel almost at peace now I've found it.

Definitely. I hope you get what you want out of it. 

It is a shame. I'm glad this community exists though, it's a safe space where we can be ourselves.

Even in pro autism communities, it was far too toxic, polarised and hostile. It's a shame really. 

I had to leave both Facebook and Twitter in the end. I found both really hostile environments to be and very anti autism by a lot of people.

I'm much happier on here.

Yeah, I've been cautious about sharing too much identifying information for a multitude of reasons. 

Mainly cos I used to be on Twitter and over shared to the point it caused problems. 

TheCatWoman said:

I don't think I've filled out a profile bio

I filled one out but it's only short. I wasn't going to at first, I felt uncomfortable over sharing personal info and also, I find it difficult to explain about myself.

I remember at school how awkward I felt when on the first day the teacher would be like tell us about yourself or what did you do on the weekend. It was always so awkward because my brain froze and I didn't know what to say.

Short and to the point works best for me 

I don't think I've filled out a profile bio.

There are lots of people who can only speak about one or two things.

Bot's and general trolling do annoy me though, sometimes you can tell if someone/thing is a bot by using key words, usually political and see if they bite, often you only need a one word post.

Bot accounts are such a familiar complaint in the online world now. As technology continues to advance the bots are becoming more of a problem.

Usually if an account online is a bot they will: 

• Only write short sentences.
• Post just once or twice then never return.
• Post links.
• Stick to one subject and be unable to talk about something else.
• Reply quicker than a human generally could. 
• Not fill out their profile bio.
• When asked for more details about themselves be unable to answer
• Usually writes without separating their text.

All of the above is generally a red flag. Although I'm still not sure about fast replies as some people are just fast at replying. My WPM is v fast.

Forum puppets are a more common occurrence these days all across the internet. Usually it's trolls trying to discuss something that easily gets heated, baiting people in. Though not always... Like with bots though I just ignore them.

Thank you!

You definitely deserve the help and support. 

That sounds really good. I hope when I eventually get a therapist he or she will be just as good. The system here is so slow though, so if I do get a job I'll try to go private, if I can afford it.

I went private for therapy; nothing on the NHS was very autism friendly. Some recommended her to me and I'm very lucky that we clicked almost immediately. She has a sliding scale for pricing which works for me.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Everyone deserves support and if she helps you then that's wonderful. You deserve to be supported.

I'm on a waiting list for therapy but I think I've still got a bit of a wait yet.

Yeah, I'm in no rush either. It'll happen naturally. 

I rely on my therapist at the moment; she's my only source of support, either rightly or wrongly. It's what I need. 

HMO said:

I've never done online dating but I've never felt comfortable using one of those apps, even just a friend-based one like Bumble. You don't know who's real and something just never sat right with me

I'm the exact same now. I used to say I wouldn't but then I did because my loneliness and isolation were getting unbearable to live with but it wasn't a good experience for that very reason of AI.

Also wrecked my self confidence.

I stick to socialising on here now, it's way easier and I think the majority of us are human. I'm hoping I'll still meet someone in person one day when I go shopping but until then I'm contempt with how things are.

I've never done online dating but I've never felt comfortable using one of those apps, even just a friend-based one like Bumble. You don't know who's real and something just never sat right with me.

It used to be Twitter for me, but I think certain online spaces are good for it. I did meet some people IRL that I met through Twitter but it was hit and miss as to whether that connection held up. I could get along with someone well online, but it would completely fall apart during a voice/video call or IRL, and that's really disappointing.

Unknown said:

Perhaps I am naive.

You're not being naive. AI accounts are all over the Web now and it's becoming a big problem because it's difficult to tell who's who. 

I did online dating last year but I stopped in the end because a lot of the people I spoke to were AI. I thought I was getting on really well and then suddenly their account was deleted because of Spam/AI. 

It put me off so I stopped using that app.

Unknown said:

I like face to face, one on one.  Clear unavoidable transparency of reality. 

Amen to this! Me too!