Despite the differences between Hive & basically any Meta owned social media platform, they're both essentially social medium - relying on users to engage with each other so that we feel seen, valued, and rewarded - whether that's by financial incentive or simply human interaction.

The complaint on Hive has always been about whether anyone reads or simply sees your post as a way to get curation rewards. That's why when 'big' or popular people on Hive often get large upvotes, as whales will come in and vote them and everyone else will follow suit, hoping to get some crumbs.

Now the complaint has a dimension added to it - two really - spam and AI content. The bottom line is that we can't do anything about either - it'll keep coming because those two things exist, coupled with the also-human desire to make money, which we have to understand.

Whether we like it or not is a different story. Ask any old timers here and the majority will say they're not even here for finanical incentive anymore - they're here for engagement. We've made friends here, enjoy writing, and love the global community on Hive. Sure, we'd be happy if Hive mooned, not gonna lie.

The human connection is important for us here.

So if you're using AI to write comments, it's just going to piss people off, and not win you any favours. If you're mechanising your content in the hope to win favours (upvotes, mostly) it certainly doesn't feel fair to those who are trying their best to interact on a social, human level.

Can You Tell If People Are Using AI to Comment?

It's harder and harder to tell whether people are using AI or not. I can usually tell, but there's also the legitimate use of Grammarly, particularly for those where English might not be their first language, and they don't want to come across as illiterate or even badly understood.

But whether you're writing in Espanol or Japanese, AI comments look the same - there's just something about them that doesn't seem human.

A human comment will often have typos because we're in a hurry. They'll usually add a personal response to an aspect of your post - something they relate to, or that's also happened to them. It'll almost never be a summary of what you've just written. And they're almost never structurally perfect.

But then, AI gets close:

Thanks for saying this so clearly. I’ve been feeling the same way lately — like there’s a growing disconnect between posts that come from a real place of wanting to connect, and the ones that feel like they were churned out just to tick boxes or catch votes. Hive has always stood out to me because of the genuine friendships and thoughtful conversations it nurtures, and it’s disheartening when that vibe gets diluted by spam or soulless AI replies. Tools like Grammarly are one thing — they help us communicate better — but when the heart goes missing from interactions, people notice. I’m here for the people, too, and comments that actually see others are what keep this place alive.

Can you tell what would raise a red flag for me here? Tell me in the comments - I don't want to give it away.

And what about this one - is this AI written?

Yeah, I get what you're saying. It’s kinda been bothering me too lately. Like the other day I posted something personal, took me a while to write it, and the only comment I got was super generic like “great insights, keep sharing!” — felt like it wasn’t even about what I wrote. Pretty sure it was AI or just someone farming curation. Makes you not wanna bother sometimes, you know? I don’t mind if ppl use tools to help write, like English isn’t easy for everyone, but when it feels like a bot wrote it with no care… yeah nah. Hive's cool cause we actually talk to each other, not just scroll and like stuff like on Insta or whatever. I miss more real convos, where people actually read and share their own take. That’s what made me stay here.

What Can We Do About It?

The bottom line is that we can't police HIVE with absolute surety that AI has been used to write a comment, or or a post for that matter. But we can have valuable, polite conversations with people when we suspect it. WE don't have to be accusatory and nasty (what if we're wrong?) but more gently suggest we much prefer and value genuine interaction.

What do you think?

Images in this post taken by me.