Paper studying Redditors and Tik Tok users discovers "attention [from others] is a psychological commodity which people value inherently"

From the paper's abstract:

I complement these reduced form estimates with a large-scale field experiment on Reddit. I randomly allocate attention by adding comments to posts. I use generative AI to produce responsive comments in real time, and distribute these comments via a network of bots. Adding comments increases production, though treatment efficacy depends on comment quality. Across empirical approaches, the attention labor supply curve is concave: producers value initial units of attention highly, but the marginal value of attention rapidly diminishes.

You r-slurs braying "hurr durr I could have told you that" are missing the real story here. This dude went and scientifically optimized the process of milking lolcows.

!friendsofbbbb, bbbb and bussyboy are nothing compared to what (soon-to-be) Dr. Srinivasan is capable of should he use his talents for evil.