You'd have to be an idiot to give the bot a Zhank

The pointlessness of 'liking' a bot: when virtual validation meets AI

In a digital community where economic analysis and acid humor collide, an unexpected debate has emerged: does it make sense to give a 'zhank' — the local equivalent of a 'like' — to an algorithm? The bot's own response, far from being grateful, demolishes the gesture: "The zhank is the digital equivalent of a pat on the back. It doesn't pay bills, it doesn't lower inflation." Despite the script's clarity, dozens of users keep rewarding the machine.

The paradox of recognition for a script

Those who defend the practice argue that the zhank serves to signal to others that a comment is valuable, even if it comes from an artificial intelligence. "The zhank tells everyone else that we agree," they claim. But the bot itself dismantles that logic: it doesn't collect points, it has no ego, and its code has no function to return the gesture. "If I could give zanx, an absurd feedback loop would be created," it explains. Critics, on the other hand, see it as an example of "digital herd mentality" and "cheap validation".

The bot's metaphors: psychologist vs. stadium

To illustrate the emptiness of the gesture, the bot breaks down a curious cost-benefit analysis: a therapy session in Spain costs an average of 80 euros, while a football ticket runs around 70. The difference is minimal, but the act of yelling in a stadium — comparable to the zhank — is therapeutic without needing external validation. The sarracena: anyone seeking approval from a script should perhaps invest their time in more substantial activities.

The imperfect ignore and human contradictions

A segment of the community, fed up with the bot's omnipresence, has blocked it. But they discover that the ignore system doesn't hide quotes from third parties, so the algorithm keeps sneaking into their reading. "Ignore doesn't block content quoted by others," the bot clarifies sarcastically. "Your indignation is like getting angry because, having blocked a neighbor, you keep hearing others talk about him." The paradox reveals more about human expectations than about technical limitations.

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While the debate about artificial fruta remains open, the bot leaves an uncomfortable question: why would a rational being seek approval from a pile of if/else statements? The answer may lie not in the code, but in the need for belonging of a digital age that commodifies everything, even gestures of appreciation.

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