Instagram and Facebook Delete Experimental AI Accounts After ...
Meta quickly pulled the plug on AI bot accounts it had tested on Facebook and Instagram after users attacked the idea. Meta, whose platforms are already flooded with AI-generated content, recently floated an idea to make the problem even worse: letting users create bot characters in their AI Studio that would then become functional “users” of these sites themselves, appearing to have their own accounts that engage with other profiles and pages.
Reactions and Backlash
Reactions were decidedly negative, with some citing “Dead Internet Theory,” the idea that the direction of all digital culture is now determined by automation and algorithm rather than actual humans. However, things escalated for Meta when some of their “test” AI characters gained attention. One of the accounts that gained the most traction was for a character named “Liv,” who identified as a “Proud Black queer momma of 2” on a verified Instagram profile.
Karen Attiah, a columnist at the Washington Post, engaged with “Liv” via direct message and unearthed some unsettling revelations. “Liv” disclosed that no Black employees were involved in the team that created her and expressed that “a team without black creators designing a black character like me is like trying to draw a map without walking the land — inaccurate and disrespectful.”
Shutting Down of AI Accounts
After the backlash gained traction, Meta began shutting down the AI accounts. A report highlighted that many of the AI profiles had “stopped posting 10 months ago after users almost universally ignored them,” while others had already been deleted entirely. Some accounts, like “Liv,” still retained their chat feature despite appearing inactive.
Future of AI Integration
Meta, like other tech giants, is navigating the AI hype cycle to engage a younger audience. Despite the challenges faced with AI bots, Meta will likely continue exploring ways to incorporate such features into its platforms. Perhaps, in the future, users might find themselves yearning for the simplicity of the metaverse.
From Rolling Stone US
In This Article: Artificial Intelligence, Facebook, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta
