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Imagine you owned a bookstore. Most of your revenue depends on customers coming in and buying books, so you set up different aspects of the business around that activity. You might put low-cost “impulse buy” items near the checkout or start selling coffee as a convenience. You might even partner with publishers to put displays of popular bestsellers in high-visibility locations in the story to drive sales. Now imagine one day a robot comes in to buy books on behalf of someone. It ignores the displays, the coffee kiosk, and the tchotchkes near the till. It just grabs the book the person ordered, pays for it, and walks out. The next day 4 robots come in, then 12 the day after that. Soon, robots are outnumbering humans in your store, which are dwindling by the day. You soon see very few sales from nonbook items, publishers stop bothering with those displays, and the coffee goes cold. Revenue plummets. In response, you might start charging robots a fee to enter your store, and if they don’t pay it, you deny them entry. But then one day a robot that looks just like a human comes into the point that you can’t tell the difference. What do you do then? {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} This analogy is basically what the publishing world is going through right now, with bot traffic to media websites skyrocketing over the past three months. That’s according to new data from TollBit, which recently published its State of the Bots report for the first quarter of 2025. Even more concerning, however, is that the most popular AI search engines are choosing to ignore long-respected standards for blocking bots, in some cases arguing that when a search “agent” acts on behalf of an individual user, the bot should be treated as human. The robot revolution TollBit’s report paints a fast-changing picture of what’s happening with AI search. Over the past several months, AI companies have either introduced search abilities or greatly increased their search activity. Bot scraping focused on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which is distinct from training data, increased 49% over the previous quarters. Anthropic’s Claude notably introduced search, and in the same period ChatGPT (the world’s most popular chatbot by far) had a spike in users, plus deep research tools from all the major providers began to take hold. At the same time, publishers increased their defenses. The report reveals that media websites in January were using various methods to block AI bots four times as much as they were doing in a year before. The first line of defense is to adjust their website’s robots.txt file, which tells which specific bots are welcome and which ones are forbidden from accessing the content. The thing is, adhering to robots.txt is ultimately an honor system and not really enforceable. And the report indicates more AI companies are treating it as such: Among sites in TollBit’s network, bot scrapes that ignore robots.txt increased from 3.3% to 12.9% in just one quarter. Part of that increase is due to a relatively new stance the AI companies have taken, and it’s subtle but important. Broadly speaking, there are three different kinds of bots that scrape or crawl content: Training bots: These are bots that crawl the internet to scrape content to provide training data for AI models. Search indexing bots: Bots that go out and crawl the web to ensure the model has fast access to important information outside its training set (which is usually out of date). This is a form of RAG. User agent bots: Also a form of RAG, these are crawlers that go out to the web in real time to find information directly in response to a user query, regardless of whether the content it finds has been previously indexed. Because No. 3 is an agent acting on behalf of a human, AI companies argue that it’s an extension of that user behavior and have essentially given themselves permission to ignore robots.txt settings for that use case. This isn’t guessworkGoogle, Meta, and Perplexity have made it explicit in their developer notes. This is how you get human-looking robots in the bookstore. When humans go to websites, they see ads. Humans can be intrigued or enticed by other content, such as a link to a podcast about the same topic as an article they’re reading. Humans can decide whether or not to pay for a subscription. Humans sometimes choose to make a transaction based on the information in front of them. Bots don’t really do any of that (not yet, anyway). Large parts of the internet economy depend on human attention to websites, but as the report shows, that behavior drops off massively when someone uses AI to search the webAI search engines provide very little in the way of referral traffic compared to traditional search. This of course is what’s behind many of the lawsuits now in play between media companies and AI companies. How that is resolved in the legal realm is still TBD, but in the meantime, some media sites are choosing to block botsor at least are attempting tofrom accessing their content at all. For user agent bots, however, that ability has been taken away. The AI companies have always seen data harvesting in the way that’s most favorable to their insatiable demand for it, famously claiming that data only needs to be “publicly available” to qualify as training data. Even when they claim to respect robots.txt for their search engines, it’s an open secret that they sometimes use third-party scrapers to bypass it. Unmasking the bots So apart from suing and hoping for the best, how can publishers regain some, well, agency in the emerging world of agent traffic? If you believe AI substitution threatens your growth, there are additional defenses to consider. Hard paywalls are easier to defend, both technically and legally, and there are several companies (including TollBit, but there are others, such as ScalePost) that specialize in redirecting bot traffic to paywalled endpoints specifically for bots. If the robot dosn’t pay, it’s denied the content, at least in theory. Collective action is another possibility. I doubt publishers would launch a class action around this specific relabeling of user agents, but it does provide more ammunition in broader copyright lawsuits. Besides going to court, industry associations could come out against the move. The News/Media Alliance in particular has been very vocal about AI companies’ alleged transgressions of copyright. The idea of treating agentic activity as the equivalent of human activity has consequences that go beyond the media. Any content or tool that’s been traditionally available for free will need to reevaluate that access now that robots are destined to be a growing part of the mix. If there was any doubt that simply updating robots.txt instructions was adequate, the TollBit report blew it out of the water. The stance that “AI is just doing what humans do” is often used as a defense for when AI systems ingest large amounts of information and then produce new content based on it. Now the makers of those systems are quietly extending that idea, allowing their agents to effectively impersonate humans while shopping the web for data. Until it’s clear how to build profitable stores for robots, there should be a way to force their masks off. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
Marcus leads a team of eight direct reports, and Jennifer is his star employee. While the other seven team members struggle to complete tasks on time or in the way Marcus asks for them, Jennifer seems to ace any task shes given. She asks questions when shes unclear and owns up to her mistakes. Any time the other employees mess up, Marcus wishes he could clone Jennifer seven times and save himself the hassle. Sound familiar? You may not be able to clone your star employees, but you can help your team replicate the cognitive habits of people like Jennifer to build the skill of accountability across your team. At the NeuroLeadership Institute, weve spent the past year reverse-engineering what accountable people do from a cognitive perspective. Quite literally, weve asked, what are the cognitive habitsthe habits of mindof people who do this well? Three have come into focus: syncing expectations, driving with purpose, and owning ones impact. In short, accountable people get clarity in what theyre supposed to do, execute tasks deliberately and intentionally, and learn from the outcomes they produce, whether good or bad. 3 HABITS OF ACCOUNTABILITY When people attend to these habits in the course of their work, we call it proactive accountability. That is, they see accountability as a way to grow, develop, and innovate. They take ownership of their responsibilities and learn from their mistakes. Proactive accountability stands in contrast to punitive accountability, a practice in which leaders create environments of fear, blame, or punishment that hinder learning and growth, as well as permissive accountability, in which leaders assume performance issues will simply work themselves out. Sync expectations A major factor in cultures with low accountability is a mismatch in expectations. The manager thinks the team member will do one thing, but the team member thinks theyre supposed to do something else. Disappointment and broken trust follow. In the brain, unmet expectations are processed as error signals. Levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine drop, sapping motivation and causing us to feel frustrated or angry, which forces us to adjust our expectations. When expectations are met, however, there is no error signal, dopamine levels hold steady, and trust and satisfaction remain strong. The first habit of proactive accountability, Sync expectations, involves the employee getting clear about whats expected of them. This is an important first step because shared understanding is the foundation of being effective. In the brain this is represented by a temporary synchronization of neural activity, known as neural synchrony. Relationship building During neural synchrony, neurons in both peoples brains are firing in the same patterns because their minds are processing information in nearly identical ways. For this to happen, both people need to discuss and eliminate any potential misunderstandings before moving forward. Syncing expectations also has benefits for relationships at the end of the project because fulfilled expectations breed trust, while unmet expectations erode trust. When two teammates sync expectations up front, they make an investment in sustaining the relationship long-term. Tactic: Encourage your team to sync expectations by communicating in a way thats succinct, specific, and generous (SSG). SSG communication uses a narrow focus to support working memory (succinct); it uses visual, explicit language to enhance processing (specific); and its tailored to create ease of understanding (generous). Its not Get me this report by 5 p.m.rather, its Email me this report by 5 p.m. Eastern Time, and please attach the report as a PDF. SSG communication creates clarity, which promotes synchrony and aligns expectations. Drive with purpose Once the leader and employee have synced expectations, the employee must own the responsibility to execute the task at the highest level. Highly effective people often do this by connecting the goal at hand to a higher purpose, and then working to create the right outcomes with that purpose in mind. Purpose ignites motivation. When we know why were asked to do something, and we can see how the work creates a meaningful impact, were more intrinsically motivated to act. Compared to extrinsic motivators, such as money and status, intrinsic rewards, like a sense of accomplishment or mastery over a task, are much more powerful. Consciously or not, effective people find deeper meaning in their work to summon the energy to keep pushing. They also act deliberately, rather than hastily, investigating as many possibilities as they can and assuming almost nothing. In addition, they check their biases to avoid making rash judgments. Since cognitive biases act as mental shortcuts, they pose risks for an employee completing a task effectively. Someone who acts with an expedience bias, for instance, might move too quickly and miss a crucial part of the work. Tactic: Help your employees identify the impact this work will have on them. Perhaps the project is an opportunity for them to build a new skill or to contribute to an important organizational goal. Asking questions that elicit a clear why will help the employee form a stronger sense of purpose and ownership over their work. Own the impact Accountability doesnt just involve getting things done as expected; it means seeing how those actions play out going forward. Even the best laid plans can produce unexpected results. Accountable leaders own their teams impact, regardless of peoples positive intentions, and then they devise new plans to keep pushing toward success. Proactive accountability requires us to maintain a growth mindset, or the belief that mistakes are chances to improve rather than signs of incompetence. When people always seem to get things done, its because theyre not getting mired in failure or basking in success. They may pause to experience their emotions, but ultimately theyre focused on achieving the next set of goals in front of them. Tactic: The most important time for leaders and team members to own their impact is when things dont go as planned. Help your team apologize well by following (and modeling) a three-step approach: taking responsibility, saying how youll fix things, and asking for others input. Choosing to learn from our mistakes preserves trust and promotes growth: two outcomes that sit at the heart of proactive accountability. DEMYSTIFYING ACCOUNTABILITY With these three habits, Marcus feels more empowered to help his team build the skill of accountability. Jennifer may have a natural talent for getting things done at a high level, but theres no secret to her efficacy. When a new project comes her way, she merely goes through the prescribed steps that neuroscience shows will naturally produce accountability. It will take time to develop the behaviors of proactive accountability and make them habits. But with the right focus, you can help everyone on your team, including yourself, become the kind of person who meets or exceeds expectations in whatever they do. What seems like magic will really just be brain science at work.
Category:
E-Commerce
It has been five years since May 25, 2020, when George Floyd gasped for air beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer at the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Five years since 17-year-old Darnella Frazier stood outside Cup Foods, raised her phone, and bore witness to nine minutes and 29 seconds that would galvanize a global movement against racial injustice. Fraziers video didnt just show what happened. It insisted the world stop and see. Today, that legacy continues in the hands of a different community, facing different threats but wielding the same tools. Across the United States, Latino organizers are raising their phones, not to go viral but to go on record. They livestream Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, film family separations and document protests outside detention centers. Their footage is not merely content. It is evidence, warningand resistance. Here in Los Angeles where I teach journalism, for example, several images have seared themselves into public memory. One viral video shows a shackled father stepping into a white, unmarked van as his daughter sobs behind the camera, pleading with him not to sign any official documents. He turns, gestures for her to calm down, and blows her a kiss. In another video, filmed across town, Los Angeles Police Department officers on horseback charge into crowds of peaceful protesters, swinging wooden batons with chilling precision. In Spokane, Washington, residents form a spontaneous human chain around their neighbors mid-raid, their bodies and cameras erecting a barricade of defiance. In San Diego, a video shows white allies yelling Shame! as they chase a car full of National Guard troops from their neighborhood. The impact of smartphone witnessing has been immediate and unmistakablevisceral at street level, seismic in statehouses. On the ground, the videos helped inspire a No Kings movement, which organized protests in all 50 states on June 14, 2025. Lawmakers are intensifying their focus on immigration policy as well. As the Trump administration escalates enforcement, Democratic-led states are expanding laws that limit cooperation with federal agents. On June 12, the House Oversight Committee questioned Democratic governors about these measures, with Republican lawmakers citing public safety concerns. The hearing underscored deep divisions between federal and state approaches to immigration enforcement. BREAKING: ICE raid and community resistance in front of Home Depot in Paramount, California.— Jeremy Lindenfeld (@jeremotographs.bsky.social) 2025-06-07T18:27:17.850Z The legacy of Black witnessing Whats unfolding now is not newit is newly visible. As my research shows, Latino organizers are drawing from a playbook that was sharpened in 2020 and rooted in a much older lineage of Black media survival strategies that were forged under extreme oppression. In my 2020 book Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest Journalism, I document how Black Americans have used mediaslave narratives, pamphlets, newspapers, radio and now smartphonesto fight for justice. From Frederick Douglass to Ida B. Wells to Darnella Frazier, Black witnesses have long used journalism as a tool for survival and transformation. Latino mobile journalists are building on that blueprint in 2025, filming state power in moments of overreach, archiving injustice in real time, and expanding the impact of this radical tradition. Their work also echoes the spatial tactics of Black resistance. Just as enslaved Black people once mapped escape routes during slavery and Jim Crow, Latino communities today are engaging in digital cartography to chart ICE-free zones, mutual aid hubs and sanctuary spaces. The People Over Papers map channels the logic of the Black maroonscommunities of self-liberated Africans who escaped plantations to track patrols, share intelligence and build networks of survival. Now, the hideouts are digital. The maps are crowdsourced. The danger remains. Likewise, the Stop ICE Raids Alerts Network revives a civil rights-era tactic. In the 1960s, organizers used wide area telephone service lines and radio to circulate safety updates. Black DJs cloaked dispatches in traffic and weather reportscongestion on the south side signaled police blockades; storm warnings meant violence ahead. Today, the medium is WhatsApp. The signal is encrypted. But the messageprotect each otherhas not changed. Layered across both systems is the DNA of the Negro Motorist Green Book, the guide that once helped Black travelers navigate Jim Crow America by identifying safe towns, gas stations, and lodging. People Over Papers and Stop ICE Raids are digital descendants of that legacy. Where the Green Book used printed pages, todays tools use digital pins. But the mission remains: survival through shared knowledge, protection through mapped resistance. The People Over Papers map is a crowdsourced collection of reports of ICE activity across the U.S. [Screenshot: The Conversation U.S.] Dangerous necessity Five years after George Floyds death, the power of visual evidence remains undeniable. Black witnessing laid the groundwork. In 2025, that tradition continues through the lens of Latino mobile journalists, who draw clear parallels between their own communitys experiences and those of Black Americans. Their footage exposes powerful echoes: ICE raids and overpolicing, border cages and city jails, a door kicked in at dawn and a knee on a neck. Like Black Americans before them, Latino communities are using smartphones to protect, to document and to respond. In cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and El Paso, whispers of ICE is in the neighborhood now flash across Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram. For undocumented families, pressing record can mean risking retaliation or arrest. But many keep filmingbecause what goes unrecorded can be erased. What they capture are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader, shared struggle against state violence. And as long as the cameras keep rolling, the stories keep surfacingilluminated by the glow of smartphone screens that refuse to look away. Allissa V. Richardson is an associate professor of journalism at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
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