Facebook plans to fill the platform with users based on artificial intelligence
31 December 08:46
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced ambitious plans to fill the social network with characters created by artificial intelligence. The goal of this initiative is to supposedly increase user engagement on the platform as part of a large-scale introduction of AI-based products.
Meta’s Vice President of Generative AI Products Connor Hayes explains that these AI characters will exist on the company’s platforms like regular user accounts. They will have their own biographies, profile photos, and will be able to create and distribute content using artificial intelligence.
It is worth noting that the introduction of AI characters is not a completely new initiative for the company. Over the past year, Meta has been actively integrating generative AI technologies into its products. In the summer, the company launched AI Studio, which quickly gained popularity among users to create virtual interlocutors. According to Hayes, the service already has hundreds of thousands of AI characters, and this is only the beginning. Meta plans to expand access to AI Studio beyond the US and make interaction with AI more social over the next two years.
Follow us on Telegram: main news in a nutshell
In addition to creating fictional characters, the platform allows Facebook and Instagram influencers to create their own AI versions that their followers can interact with. However, experts express concern about the potential risks of such implementation. Becky Owen, former head of innovation for creators at Meta, warns that low-quality AI content can negatively affect the work of real content creators. According to her, AI characters do not have life experience, emotions, and the ability to evoke real empathy, as real people do.
Of particular concern are the issues of user safety and the spread of misinformation. There have already been cases when similar chatbots on other platforms violated the established restrictions and showed inappropriate content, especially to underage users. Moreover, Facebook is already facing the problem of spreading artificially generated content, and the massive introduction of AI characters can only exacerbate this problem.
Meta recognizes the need to implement reliable security measures to prevent the spread of fake information through AI accounts, but no specific mechanisms for such protection have been presented yet.
As reported by , Meta wants to have its own nuclear power plant to develop artificial intelligence.
