"There Has To Be a Lot That We're Missing": Moderating AI-Generated Content on Reddit

TL;DR

Generative AI threatens online communities by altering content quality, social dynamics, and governance. The authors conduct fifteen in-depth interviews with Reddit moderators in AI-restrictive communities to understand moderator attitudes (RQ1) and enforcement experiences (RQ2). They find a general opposition to AIGC despite acknowledging potential benefits, and that clarifying norms helps but detection-based enforcement remains time-consuming and imperfect. The study discusses implications for community self-determination and platform design, including opt-out options and tools to support authenticity. Collectively, the work advances CSCW by detailing how communities can navigate AI-induced disruption through norms, design features, and authentic communication practices.

Abstract

Generative AI is altering how we work, learn, communicate, and participate in online communities. How might online communities be changed by generative AI? To start addressing this question, we focused on online community moderators' experiences with AI-generated content (AIGC). We performed fifteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews with moderators of Reddit communities that restrict the use of AIGC. Our study finds that rules about AIGC are motivated by concerns about content quality, social dynamics, and governance challenges. Moderators fear that, without such rules, AIGC threatens to reduce their communities' utility and social value. We find that, despite the absence of robust tools for detecting AIGC, moderators were able to somewhat limit the disruption it caused by working with their communities to clarify norms. However, moderators found enforcing AIGC restrictions challenging, as they rely on time-intensive and inaccurate detection heuristics. Our results highlight the importance of supporting community autonomy and self-determination in the face of this sudden technological change, and suggest potential design solutions that may help.