Internet users swiftly went to work in the wake of an interview Meta executive Connor Hayes had with the Financial Times, where he said the company hosted entirely AI-generated characters that post on Instagram and other platforms.
These profiles “exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do … they’ll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform,” Hayes added.
In the aftermath of this interview, people online quickly tracked down the kind of accounts Hayes discussed.
Two that were unearthed posted AI-generated images and were available to chat over direct messages.
One of the accounts was “Liv,” who claimed to be a “proud black queer mom of 2 & truth-teller.”
Another was “Brian,” who said he was “everybody’s grandpa” and a “retired textile businessman who is always learning.”
The accounts come with pinned warnings, showing they were AI bots operated by Meta, but still drew snide comments on Instagram after going viral.
But even more disconcerting to many was Meta’s pledge to ramp up the offering, with Hayes revealing Meta wanted the AI characters to help its platforms be “more entertaining and engaging” and that access to the AI character tools was set to become more widely available.
Meta thinking AI is a way to improve engagement on its sites, which have struggled to attract users, had people miffed.
One concerned person on X wrote, “Big influencers need to start looking at meta sideways after this. they making these fake ai accounts so they don’t have to pay y’all for content … they are manufacturing the human experience so they don’t have to pay humans for it. this is a threat to all of us.”
Others speculated about the Dead Internet Theory, which claims that all internet usage will come from bots one day.
One user wrote, “Dead Internet Theory is now a reality … Dystopian.”
On Reddit, users mocked the fake accounts, saying, “So, not black, not queer, not a momma, and definitely not a truth-teller and who the hell thought it would be compelling to speak with a fake retired textile businessman.”
Of particular issue was an image of a coat drive, which the AI influencer Liv said she ran, a “tangible example of helping others.”
“Those aren’t real clothes, that’s not a real photo,” replied a commenter to the pic.
Some were quick to point out the racial insensitivity of the AI profiles’ bios, with another user writing, “This reads like a random white male politician would use this as his alt account so he could comment on his own posts and say things like ‘us black queer moms support you!’ any time he says something racist, sexist, or homophobic.”
“In 2019, I wrote ‘Fast forward to brands like Levi’s using AI-generated Black models to bypass hiring real ones.’ Now, Meta introduces AI personas like ‘Liv’ and ‘Jade,’ extracting Blackness for profit. This isn’t innovation it’s exploitation,” wrote another poster.
Many failed to see the appeal of these accounts, with one X user asking, “Meta introducing AI influencers is the worst thing ever done. Lol, what’s the point of this?”
Meta may have agreed with that take, as the accounts in question appear to have been deleted after getting flagged.
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