i don't have a problem with the bots, nor the witnesses who run the bots, i take issue with the fact that just about anyone can use the bots and make a profit off them regardless of what they're posting. I know witnesses i voted for own a couple of the bots, thats fine by me. I also know those witnesses do their best not to let the bots upvote shitposts because its not fair on the people who put in time and effort.
And yes we are interacting with each other but that's also one example and anecdotal evidence at best. I'm not saying all discussion will cease to exist, simply that people will do it less if they can still make a profit without it. One of the best parts of steemit was when i first came and needed to network and talk to people to get any attention, but if all you have to do is log in write a post bid for an upvote bot and log out to get the same sort of attention then its counter-productive.