Human Spirit: Ghost in the Machine
I was looking around through the settings of one of the promotional Twitter accounts I operate, trying to find where it can be changed to “Professional”.
My primary Twitter account was for a time set to Professional to see how it functioned, I don’t recommend it for personal accounts.
Anyhow you’ll notice the “Automation” option in the menu of the screenshot below.
Some time ago the platform opened up the option for accounts, which I never looked at because it’s not really fitting for how I apply scripts touching the API — remember, I manually operate them daily.
I do that to witness what returns are spit out and also to tweak not only the focus but frequency of certain calls to the API.
“Automated” in the sense I’m not searching physically but not really in the “set it and forget it” way most bots are operated.
I prefer the phrase “augmented intelligence” and am a proponent of the value it creates.
So tagging any accounts with “automated” just doesn’t fit the narrative for me, square pegs and round holes.
The term is limited in scope and isn’t robust enough to explain the relationship.
This will increasingly be a condition that humans will grapple with, content generation aided (augmented) by intelligences like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or even Mubert will become common place — you’re witnessing the explosion occur right in front of you.
I’m into it and have been.
Point here being, I think it’s fine if people want to label their account/s (I do not).
I think this undefinable scale between fully human and exclusively machine is not only beneficial but fundamental, otherwise put down all your tools and books.
Where on the slider do branded accounts using autoresponders in replies and DMs fit? How about the use of social media management tools that allow for posts to be scheduled, where does that fall?
“The Ghost in the Machine” is such a great phrase which I think is evolving now, reflecting less an unexpected output or error but instead the human spirit as the Oracle at the center of the relationship with augmentation.
