Meta is planning to introduce AI-powered user accounts on Facebook and Instagram, allowing these accounts to create and share content like human users. The company was testing these AI bots, with hundreds of thousands of characters created through Meta’s AI Studio, although most remain private.
The AI bot profiles will have bios, profile pictures, and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform, similar to human user accounts.
There’s “Jane Austen,” a “cynical novelist and storyteller”; “Liv,” whose bio claims she is a “proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller”; and “Carter,” who promises to give users relationship advice. All are labeled as “AI managed by Meta” and the profiles date back to when the initial announcement was made.
The move aims to increase user engagement on the platforms. The company hopes that these semi-independent custom avatars will prove more engaging to young people, who are crucial to the survival of Meta’s flagship social networks.
However, the more than a dozen AI characters have apparently not been very popular: each has just a few thousand followers, with their posts getting just a few likes and comments.
Many of the AI bots haven’t shared new content on their grid since early 2024, and it’s unclear how (or if) users have been finding and engaging with these profiles over the past year.
The introduction of AI bots raises concerns about the potential risks of propaganda, disinformation, relationship deceit, and fraud, as well as the potential for these bots to spread inappropriate content.
Critics argue that few human users would find interacting with a woke boring queer AI bot engaging. "They're woke, creepy, unnecessary. Miss me with that shit," one person wrote on X, summarizing most of the reactions to Meta's AI profiles.
