Despite increased empirical attention, theory on bots and how they act to disseminate information on social media remains poorly understood. Our study leverages the conduit brokerage perspective and the findings of a multiple case study to develop a novel framework of algorithmic conduit brokerage for understanding information dissemination by bots and the design choices that may influence their actions. Algorithmic conduit brokerage encompasses two intertwined processes. The first process, algorithmic social alertness, relies on bot activity to curate and reconfigure information. Algorithmic social alertness is significant because it involves action triggers that dictate the kinds of information being searched, discovered, and retrieved by bots. The second process, algorithmic social transmission, relies on bot activity to embellish and distribute the information curated. Algorithmic social transmission is important because it can broaden the reach of information disseminated by bots through increased discoverability and directed targeting. The two algorithmic conduit brokerage processes we offer are unique to bots and distinct from the original conceptualization of conduit brokerage, which is rooted in human activity. First, since bots lack the human ability of sensemaking and are instead fueled by automation and action triggers rather than by emotions, algorithmic conduit brokerage is more invariant and reliable than human conduit brokerage. Second, automation increases the speed and scale of information curation and transfer, making algorithmic conduit brokerage not only more consistent but also faster and more extensive. Third, algorithmic conduit brokerage includes a set of new concepts (e.g., action triggers and rapid scaling) that are specific to bots and therefore not applicable to human conduit brokerage.

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社会警觉性和社会传播的算法过程：机器人如何在 Twitter 上传播信息

尽管越来越多的经验关注，关于机器人的理论以及它们如何在社交媒体上传播信息仍然知之甚少。我们的研究利用管道经纪的观点和多个案例研究的结果来开发一个新的算法管道经纪框架，以了解机器人的信息传播和可能影响其行为的设计选择。算法管道经纪包括两个相互交织的过程。第一个过程，算法社交警觉性，依赖于机器人活动来管理和重新配置信息。算法社交警觉性很重要，因为它涉及动作触发器，这些触发器决定了机器人正在搜索、发现和检索的信息种类。第二个过程，算法社交传播，依靠机器人活动来修饰和分发策划的信息。算法社交传播很重要，因为它可以通过增加可发现性和定向目标来扩大机器人传播信息的范围。我们提供的两种算法管道经纪流程对于机器人来说是独一无二的，并且与根植于人类活动的管道经纪的原始概念不同。首先，由于机器人缺乏人类的感知能力，而是由自动化和动作触发而不是情绪驱动，因此算法管道经纪比人工管道经纪更加不变和可靠。其次，自动化提高了信息管理和传输的速度和规模，使算法管道经纪不仅更加一致，而且速度更快、范围更广。第三，