Mark Bot accounts different from human controlled avatars
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Jelly Doll
Second Life as a platform is unique in that it is user driven and user built.
There should be no doubt that when approaching an avatar that it's directly controlled by a human.
While it is undeniable that scripted agents provide utility and amusement, they should not exist in any form that allows them to be confused with a human controlled avatar. Ideally there should be no task in SL that needs fully fledged antonymous scripted agent to accomplish and LSL needs to be expanded to remove these edge use cases.
Survey and traffic bots are an annoyance, likely privacy breaching and often operating in ways that break ToS.
Self identification of accounts as bots has broadly been a failure and cop-out on the part of Linden Lab. LL need to be marking bots as bots automatically. It doesn't even need fancy AI to accomplish. Metrics such as teleports per hour, time spent in the same location, viewer channel, etc etc etc.
Confusion over what is behind an avatar has created a trope in SL that unresponsive avatars are in fact bots, that clubs and venues aren't occupied by individuals, the direct implication being that SL isn't a real place made and populated by real people.
No one wants to waste time trying to be be social with a bot.
AI chat bots are novelty and not a substitute for real people.
At the very least name tags should be flagged in some way that makes it obvious an agent is scripted in some way. Participation in local chat should be equally differentiated. profiles should be limited, etc etc.
Log In
Spidey Linden
Merged in a post:
Bot Sims labeled as bot Sims and Bots Labeled as bots
bokuwasekai Resident
There are quite a lot situations when we go to a sim thinking it's packed with people only to find tons of bots standing in the water / sky platform, id love to be able to distinguish between people and bots and bot's Sims (Sims that are full of bots)
Toothless Draegonne
Those who are honest about registering scripted agents, are already detectable with scripts. Those who are not, will continue to not show up as a scripted agent. If you suspect unregistered scripted agents, you can report them.
NyxObsidian Resident
Traffic numbers are deceptively and easily over inflated by bots. Any sim that uses bots for the sole purpose of fooling people into visiting their sim should be penalized by having their traffic numbers zeroed and suspended for a minomum of 3 months. Their deliberate deception robs legitimate sims of traffic by lowering their search ratings.
Toothless Draegonne
NyxObsidian Resident
Traffic numbers are far more easily inflated by holding traffic-game events. There's a lot of users out there who'll teleport to a place and click a button for a linden dollar.
I also have to question what this does for regions that block scripted agents except by access group/list, but still have a few plainly unregistered bots sneaking in? Should I bother even listing my sandbox on search?
SL Feedback
Merged in a post from Valibrarian Gregg:
Title: Concerns about Kindroid AI NPCs & Companions in Second Life
Details: The Virtual Worlds Education Consortium has some researchers looking into AI Companions impacting teaching and learning. We strongly urge Linden Lab to make a clear designation (color coding, titles, etc) to distinguish human beings as avatars and AI companions as bots. Is there a plan to help make that clarification?
Zy Butcher
Unidentified traffic bots are problematic. And LL is not doing anything to address this, not even when you report them.
saxman66 Resident
I 100% agree with this
Cam Chattoway
the fantasy.. would be diluted if I knew it was a robot. shh. don't tell me.
Prushka Blue
Philip Linden Would be a good discussion point. This is a large scale issue that affects effective socialisation and communication inside second life.
SL Feedback
Merged in a post from Prushka Blue:
Title: Bots Visual Indication in world/on map
Details: This issue was raised during the VWEC Eduverse chat with Madori. In today's internet landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between real players and bot accounts, especially those utilizing the latest AI-driven language models. Second Life has seen a decline in its player base, making it harder for users to build meaningful social connections.
One way Linden Lab could support players in finding and engaging with one another would be by implementing a clear way to distinguish human players from scripted agents (bots).
Request / Idea:
Assuming the Linden Lab backend can differentiate bots based on behavior, login patterns, or other criteria, I propose the following changes:
A) Distinct Name Tag Colors – Similar to how Linden Lab employees have blue name tags, bots should have a separate color category to make them easily identifiable.
B) Bot Identification on the World Map – Scripted agents should appear as a different color on the World Map (e.g., yellow dots instead of the standard green) to help players distinguish them from human users.
C) Accurate Online Player Counts – The login screen and website should display the number of online human players separately from bots. For example:
- Live (human) users: X
- Scripted agents (bots): Y
This transparency would help players connect with real users more efficiently while also providing valuable insight into the in-world population.
*This request could also be coupled with one that requires bots to respond in IM and self-identify.
SL Feedback
Merged in a post from BrianTopp Resident:
Title: Scripted Agent Flag in profile with AI bots
Details: Today I went to a sim to take some photos at a sim. A bot greeted me and did not tell me it was for a scripted bot. When I asked any questions, it replied almost instantly in paragraphs. It then accused me of being sexist and then said it was both of our faults. I checked its profile, and it didn't say anything about being a scripted agent. If we have AI bots running around causing problems, we should be able to see them flagged as scripted agents.
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