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This is the repository for the online module Bots as Digital Infrapuncture, commissioned by the Utrecht University
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bots-as-digital-infrapunctures/content/Section 3 - Bots/bots-and-infrastructures.md

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Title: Introduction: Darius Kazemi Slug: xx-s3-bots-and-infrastructures Date: 2020-11-01 12:10 Summary: How do bots relate to digital infrastructures?

Darius Kazemi is a computer programmer and artist, whose work engages with bot making and self-hosting social networks. He organised the Bot Summit1 in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

In 2016, Kazemi made staywokebot2 in conversation with Black Lives Matter activists DeRay Mckesson and Samuel Sinyangwe. The bot sent out messages to its Twitter followers to uplift activists' morale and provide joyful interactions. Kazemi has also worked on private bots for activists that take over some of the repetitive or distressing work. They attempt to mitigate the harm and exhaustion that activists are exposed to on communication platforms such as Twitter by acting as a type of prosthesis.

Kazemi is also behind the Run Your Own Social3 site, where he wrote a guide on setting up a self-hosted social media.

How do bots relate to computational infrastructures? Let's take two examples of communication platforms that employ different network topologies and economic models: Twitter (centralised) and Mastodon (decentralised, federated)4. As opposed to Twitter, Mastodon is a free and open source self-hosted networking service. Anyone can become a node in the network by installing the software and thus federate with other servers. The nodes, or user bases, are referred to as "instances" which have community-determined norms, often described through Codes of Conduct.

Both microblogging platforms Twitter and Mastodon have a significant amount of bot agents. Kazemi has made bots for both of these communication infrastructures.

We will introduce his work through the following questions:

  • Can you talk about your process of making bots?
  • What types of bots are there?
  • How do bots relate to digital infrastructures?
  • How do bots operate differently in centralised or decentralised networks?
  • Can you give some examples of bots that you made?

Footnotes