Musk Charges Fees to Fight Bots on X 

Elon Musk plans to introduce a new strategy that aims to tackle the issue related to bots occurring on the social media platform, X, by implementing fees for new users who wish to post. 

Commenting on a post about this modification that will be made, Musk explained that this addition is necessary because it helps in deterring automated accounts, which have been increasingly able to bypass traditional security measures, such as CAPTCHAs. 

He later added that under this new proposed system, while new users can still create new accounts, they will only be able to share content after a three-month waiting period, unless they are willing to pay a nominal fee. However, the billionaire did not disclose any further details regarding the timing and the cost for new users. 

This move was made based on a trial that was initiated last October in both New Zeeland and Philippines, where new unverified users were charged for $1 per year. These users were only able to view content. To participate in X’s community, such as liking, replying, and engaging in other forms of interaction, users had to pay the fee. 

This initiative also comes along with the platform’s recent efforts to get rid of spam accounts, though this may reduce the number of followers for some users. It also seems to be a broader strategy that aims at enhancing the quality of interactions on X. 

Furthermore, Musk is being more and more involved in AI advancements. Last year, his platform declared that it has made an update to its policy, allowing public posts to be used for the training of machine learning algorithms.  

In a related development, Musk’s AI company, xAI, began leveraging these posts to refine its models. 

Recently, X has advanced the integration of AI technologies with user interactions. Musk’s AI company has launched its Grok AI chatbot for premium subscribers at a lower fee. 

Initially offered at $16 monthly, it has now been made available for $8 monthly under the Premium plan. Furthermore, there are indications that X intends to enhance Grok’s capabilities to help users formulate their posts. 

These developments highlight Elon Musk’s ongoing commitment to merging advanced technologies with social media with the aim to improve user experience and manage the platform’s integrity. 

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