Does it matter if a robot can build a car? People can build cars.
Of course it matters. A bot can scale to appear as millions of people. So whoever wields the most compelling bots gets a massive force-multiplier for their opinions and objectives. Or more likely, grants that power to the highest bidder.
Not really -- for instance, at HN we pay more attention to comments that explain stuff well, refer to sources, and so on.
The bots might be a blessing, in some ways, if they result in more people looking for good explanations rather than for assertions or herd direction; assessing ideas rather than their sources.
Of course it matters. A bot can scale to appear as millions of people. So whoever wields the most compelling bots gets a massive force-multiplier for their opinions and objectives. Or more likely, grants that power to the highest bidder.