Reddit promotes itself as “the most human place on the internet,” yet the increasing presence of artificial intelligence-generated content poses a significant threat to its community-driven ethos. Moderators from various popular subreddits are recognizing the potential value of such content, but they express concerns that it may undermine the authenticity that defines their forums.
Travis Lloyd, a doctoral student in information science, noted that moderators are worried about three primary issues: the decline in content quality, disruptions to social interactions, and the challenges of moderation. “They were concerned about it on three levels: decreasing content quality, disrupting social dynamics and being difficult to govern,” he explained. Lloyd is the lead author of the study titled “There Has To Be a Lot That We”re Missing: Moderating AI-Generated Content on Reddit,” which will be presented at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing from October 18 to 22 in Bergen, Norway. This research received an honorable mention for best paper.
The senior author of the paper is Mor Naaman, a professor of information science at Cornell Tech, while Joseph Reagle, an associate professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, also contributed to the study. Reddit attracts over 110 million active users daily, covering a wide range of topics, including news, politics, sports, and more.
Previous research by Lloyd, Naaman, and their colleagues examined how different Reddit communities were responding to AI-generated content. This latest study goes deeper by engaging directly with moderators to understand their efforts to maintain the site”s human element amidst the growing influence of AI.
The investigation began in 2023, following the release of ChatGPT. Lloyd expressed curiosity about the impact of such tools on the information ecosystem and recognized that detecting AI-generated content would be a challenge for moderators. He stated, “We had a hard time studying it because it (AI-generated content) is hard to detect.” This realization led to the understanding that moderators would also struggle with this issue.
The researchers managed to engage 15 moderators overseeing over 100 subreddits, with memberships ranging from small groups to those with millions of users. Through interviews, it became clear that most moderators viewed AI-generated content negatively. While some recognized its utility—for instance, as a translation aid—others were more stringent. The moderator of the “Ask Historians” subreddit noted that AI tools could assist non-English speakers in contributing their expertise. In contrast, a moderator from the “WritingPrompts” subreddit firmly stated, “Let”s be absolutely clear: you are not allowed to use AI in this subreddit, you will be banned.”
Quality of content emerged as the foremost concern among moderators. One expressed that AI-generated posts often lack the substance and depth typical of human-authored content, frequently featuring glaring errors in style and accuracy. Additional worries included the potential for AI to diminish genuine interactions, leading to weakened community bonds and a departure from core values.
Moderators also feared that their already challenging role would become even more difficult with the increasing prevalence of AI-generated material. “I would rate it as the most threatening concern,” said a moderator from the “explainlikeimfive” subreddit, emphasizing the disruptive nature of AI content and the difficulties in detecting it.
Naaman highlighted the current situation where it is largely up to the moderators—who are all volunteers—to uphold the human aspect of Reddit. “It remains a huge question of how they will achieve that goal,” he remarked, pointing out that many moderators are overburdened and in limited supply. He urged that both Reddit and the wider research community must address this challenge, or risk the decline of these online communities under the pressure of AI.
Lloyd concluded by noting, “This study showed us there is an appetite for human interaction, too. And as long as there is that desire, which I don”t see going away, I think people will try to create these human-only spaces. I don”t think it”s hopeless.” This research was partially funded by the National Science Foundation.
