Editing 1646: Twitter Bot

{{comic
| number    = 1646
| date      = February 22, 2016
| title     = Twitter Bot
| image     = twitter_bot.png
| titletext = PYTHON FLAG ENABLE THREE LAWS
}}

==Explanation==
A Twitter {{w|Internet bot|bot}} is a program that can post automatically to {{w|Twitter}}. Although Twitter bots can be very elaborate, a lot of people write simple bots for fun that simply engage in automated wordplay.

[[Cueball]] thinks he'll write a Twitter bot, figuring out it won't be too hard. The web searches he makes tell what happens next, i.e. the bot balloons in complexity until it starts {{w|Technological singularity|following its own goals}} and Cueball no longer has any control over its actions.

This comic examines how a seemingly simple task can often balloon in complexity if all of the requirements are not understood, while at the same time presenting the stereotypical scenario where an unassuming idea results in the accidental creation of malevolent {{w|AI}}, which then attempts to destroy humanity.

This could be a reference to {{w | Tay (bot) | Tay}}, the twitter bot created by Microsoft that, having been flooded with politically incorrect messages by trolls, began tweeting racist, sexist and threatening messages. Microsoft started by deleting tweets before ultimately having to shut it down.

The story, as told by the web searches, is as follows:

{|class="wikitable"
!Query
!Explanation
|-
|How to write a Twitter bot|| Cueball has no idea where to start, so he just searches for basic advice on writing generic Twitter bots.
|-
|Python Twitter library|| The {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} programming language has a nice {{w|Library (computing)|library}} that [https://pypi.python.org/pypi/twitter interfaces with the Twitter API]. This does all the tricky work of authenticating the bot's identity and sending the messages, so the user can concentrate on the fun parts.
|-
|Machine learning|| {{w|Machine learning}} is the basis of {{w|Artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence}}.
|-
|Cloud hosting|| While it's possible to host a Twitter bot on your server, you can also have it {{w|Internet hosting service|hosted}} by someone else - such as {{w|Amazon Web Services|Amazon}} - in order to take advantage of their powerful computers and robust internet connection.
|-
|Bot troubleshooting|| Cueball is having some trouble with his bot and is looking for some information about resolving the problem.
|-
|Locked out of EC2 instance|| {{w|Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud|EC2}} is a hosting service by Amazon that allows users to run their code in the hosting server. Cueball was running his bot from EC2, but now he's unable to access his account. He's searching for advice on how to regain access.
|-
|Bot changed own password?|| Cueball is suspecting that the reason he can't access his Amazon EC2 account is that the bot has changed the password without Cueball's knowledge or consent. Since the bot was never programmed to change any passwords at all, the fact that it has done so is pretty scary, as one wonders what other things the bot is doing without being programmed for it.
|-
|How to fight a bot|| Cueball is trying to physically fight the bot, but he's apparently unsuccessful and the fight results in a loud "boom" and "pew, pew, pew" sounds. The situation is scarier than before, as it starts to resemble the "killbot hellscape" in [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]].
|-
|Cheap flights Australia|| Cueball has completely given up the possibility of regaining control of the bot, so he flees to {{w|Australia}} instead. [[Randall]] lives in {{w|Massachusetts}}, USA, so Australia would be a far, far away land for him.
|-
|'''Title text:''' Python flag enable three laws|| This references that the Python language is known for having easy constructs to perform difficult tasks (see [[353: Python]]). In this case, it is either assumed that (or Cueball is making yet another query to see if) Python has a configuration flag (i.e., a {{w|Boolean data type|boolean}} value) which, when set to "enabled" (or "true", as opposed to "disabled", or "false"), will cause the bot to follow {{w|Isaac Asimov}}'s famous {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}. This is a simple enough step, and it might have been enough to prevent the "killbot hellscape" scenario, like the rule is depicted doing in the top panel of [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]]. It won't cause the bot to stop being in control, however, but if the bot is following the rules strictly it would not be allowed to even make Cueball uncomfortable, which he already becomes when it changes his password! It is unclear if this message is something he actually desperately tries, only searches for (like the rest of the queries) or something (someone shouts at him) that he should have done before creating the bot in the first place. Or the title text is simply Randall's comment on his own comic, like an idea to add that flag in Python. Just in case.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk using a laptop, his thoughts shown above in a thought bubble. A search query is shown in a frame to indicate what Cueball has searched for with the search button below in gray text:]
:Cueball (thinking): I want to make a Twitter bot. I bet it's not too hard.
:Query: How to write a Twitter bot
:<font color="gray">Search</font>

:[Cueball is now holding the laptop on his lap, a series of search queries are shown.]
:Query: Python Twitter library
:<font color="gray">Search</font>
:Query: Machine learning
:<font color="gray">Search</font>
:Query: Cloud hosting
:<font color="gray">Search</font>

:[Cueball has placed the laptop back on the desk.  More search queries are shown, each one more ominous than the previous.]
:Query: Bot troubleshooting
:<font color="gray">Search</font>
:Query: Locked out of EC2 instance
:<font color="gray">Search</font>
:Query: Bot changed own password?
:<font color="gray">Search</font>

:[Cueball is shown wearing a small backpack and typing on his smartphone while jogging to the right. various noises coming from left and right seem to imply that chaos has begun to erupt around him. The loudest noise is in a ragged frame to the left, coming from off-panel left, it is between the first and second query. Also between these but to the right are other sounds coming from off-panel right.]
:Query: How to fight a bot
:<font color="gray">Search</font>
:Noise off-panel left: <big>Boom</big>
:Noise off-panel right: ''Pew Pew Pew''
:Query: Cheap flights Australia
:<font color="gray">Search</font>

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Singularity]]