Not that I have a solution, but a thought just crossed my mind: an AI welcome game room, where any human is allowed to play with AI assistance, with or without an AI flag. OC, the games would not be rated.Uberdude wrote:Servers could add a flag to user profile "I use a bot" and allow people to self declare. I would do so for the LeelaZero7 account I used on Fox a while back to openly and without deceit play as a bot. Fox actually has a flag for AI users and that got automatically applied to my account. But how many of the people who use a bot now without admitting it would tick that flag, allowing people like me to avoid them? I'm guessing not many.
But my main thought is this. We do not understand the problem yet. Why do people secretly use bots? The thrill of victory? By any means necessary? The thrill of deception? The feeling of power? Insecurity? Immaturity? The anxiety of playing online? Anonymity itself? To solve a problem, it helps to understand it.
I think that John Fairbairn has a point. Changing the online playing environment could well reduce the incidence of secret AI usage more than a punitive approach.