One Tech Tip: Want To Turn Off Meta AI? You Can't — But There Are ...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If you use Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram, you've probably noticed a new character pop up answering search queries or eagerly offering tidbits of information in your feeds, with varying degrees of accuracy.
It's Meta AI, and it's here to help, at least according to Meta Platforms' CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who calls it “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.”
The chatbot can recommend local restaurants, offer more information on something you see in a Facebook post, search for airline flights or generate images in the blink of an eye. If you're chatting with friends to plan a night out, you can invite it into your group conversation by typing @MetaAI, then ask it to recommend, say, cocktail bars.
Integration of Meta AI
Meta’s AI tool has been integrated into chat boxes and search bars throughout the tech giant’s platforms. The assistant appears, for example, at the top of your chat list on Messenger. Ask it questions about anything or to “imagine” something and it will generate a picture or animation.
As with any new technology, there are, of course, hiccups, including bizarre exchanges when the chatbots first started engaging with real people. One joined a Facebook moms’ group to talk about its gifted child. Another tried to give away nonexistent items to confused members of a Buy Nothing forum.
How to Deal with Meta AI
Some Facebook users don't like the chatbot, complaining in online forums that they're tired of having AI foisted on them all the time or that they just want to stick with what they know. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to turn off Meta AI on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp.
However, if you want to limit its interference, there are some imperfect workarounds. On the Facebook mobile app, you can try muting the chatbot for a period of time, but this doesn't completely eliminate its presence.
Another approach is to use the basic mobile site of Facebook (mbasic.facebook.com) which doesn't incorporate AI features.
Meta AI is currently available in the United States and 13 other countries including Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. If you reside outside these regions, you won't have to deal with Meta AI for now.
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This story was published originally by the Associated Press. Read the original article here.
