“Cloudflare Plays Hard to Get, Giving Default Block to AI Crawlers”

“Cloudflare Is Blocking AI Crawlers by Default”

“Given the choice, most websites would rather not let automated bots created by AI startups crawl all over them gathering data on everything from product prices to content performance. Now Cloudflare, which provides performance and security software to millions of websites, is saying it will start blocking those bots by default.”

Let’s just unpack this for a moment. We’ve got big-time player Cloudflare, with its seven million clients, strutting around like it owns the place. It’s taken a stern gaze at those spider-like AI bots, the ones that make a living browsing the web, picking up every tidbit of data they can for the highest bidder. And Cloudflare is just casually flicking them off – flick, flick, flick – like they’re so many flies, saying, “Not today bots, not on my watch.”

This is, of course, quite the game-changer. Websites drowning under the weight of automated bots scraping their data will surely rejoice. No more relentless harvesting of information, like an ever-hungry, unsleeping, digital Pac-Man. Instead, those websites can do what they were made to do; market products, offer services, and please — most importantly — humans.

Cloudflare is surely donning its superhero cape in this scenario as it plucks the bots from its clients’ websites. However, before we throw a ticker-tape parade, let’s consider a few things. Sure, this Orwellian image of AI bots relentlessly scouring websites is unnerving; but these bots also support some legitimate businesses. They help develop deep learning models and make it possible for us to search for specific things on the vast, chaotic web.

Therein lies the complexity of the Internet’s Brave New World. Today, it’s an essential pillar of our modern lives; a dizzying, overwhelming, yet exciting barrage of connectivity. And just when we thought we got our bearings, here’s Cloudflare emphatically stating, “You know what? This whole bot business is getting out of hand, time to hit the brakes.”

Besides, this is not a one-size-fits-all situation. What about the businesses that rely on these data-spunky bots, like price comparison sites or those helping us navigate the web’s labyrinth? All we can do is buckle up and see where Cloudflare’s robo-road leads us.

The digital landscape is evolving, folks. Bots were once deemed necessary pests; now, they might become digital personas-non-grata. And whether we see this as a victory for internet privacy and integrity, or an overreach by the proverbial web bouncers, only time will tell. Brace yourselves; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/cloudflare-blocks-ai-crawlers-default/