Bid bots are just a natural progression even when money isnt involved. People pay upvote bots on reddit just to push their own ideas or agendas. I think its really mostly up to the user to be diligent in looking at the type of gamed content, but if they enjoy it, I dont see too much of a problem. You see the same thing in Twitch with people trying to promote their channels.

While sometimes they do use view bots to push them up to the top, they might offer giveaways instead to bring people in. I think many people just want a natural audience growth, which bots can serve that purpose. Eventually if people dont like their content or they dont see it worth it, they will stop using them.