Meta is removing profiles of several AI characters from Facebook and Instagram that were created a year ago, after some of them were rediscovered by users and created a viral controversy.
These AI-generated profiles were first introduced by Meta in September 2023, but most of them were removed last year.
Recently, Meta executive Connor Hayes said that the company is hoping to introduce more AI characters. One of the AI products it plans to introduce allows users to create AI characters on Instagram and Facebook.
“We expect that these AI will actually, over time, exist on our platform, in the same way that accounts do,” Hayes told the Financial Times.
Meta’s “priority” over the next two years was to make its apps “more entertaining and engaging,” Hayes said, adding that these accounts would have bios and profile pictures and “be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform.” ” , , This is where we see it all happening”.
Automated accounts posted AI-generated photos on Instagram and replied to human users’ messages on Messenger.
In such profiles, Liv described herself as a “proud black queer mother of 2 and truth teller”, while Carter used the handle ‘datingwithcarter’ and claimed to be a relationship coach. Both included labels indicating that they were managed by Meta.
Screenshots of interactions with these AI characters have now gone viral on social media, especially those where users asked them questions like who created and developed the AI.
Liv claimed that her producing team did not include any black people and was predominantly white and male. “This was a very glaring omission, given my credentials,” it said in response to a question from Washington Post columnist Karen Attia.
The profiles started disappearing as soon as they went viral on social media. Some users claimed that these profiles could not be blocked, but Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney said this was a bug.
Sweeney claimed that these accounts – part of the 2023 experiment with AI – were managed by humans. Meta removed the profiles to fix a bug that prevented users from blocking them, Sweeney said.
In a statement, Sweeney said that while there is “confusion,” the recent Financial Times article “was about our approach to AI characters present on our platforms over time, not announcing any new products”.
The company had planned to release 28 Personas in 2023, but all were shut down on Friday, The Guardian reports.
“These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters,” Sweeney said. “We identified a bug that was affecting people’s ability to block those AIs and “Removing those accounts to fix the problem.”
