Meta will invest in AI-generated characters and profiles to drive up engagement
Meta launched new AI programs on its platforms earlier this year
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AI-generated profiles and users could soon flood Facebook, according to new comments from a Meta AI executive.
Over the past year, the social media platform company has been perfecting and promoting new artificial intelligence programs and technology across sites like Facebook. In July, Meta launched new trial AI character creation tools with hundreds of thousands of characters already created.
While most of these characters are private for now, Meta expects that they will be a regular part of the platform within the next few years.
Meta has been making increasing investments in AI technology. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus / AP Newsroom)
"We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do," Meta vice-president of product for generative AI Connor Hayes told the Financial Times Thursday.
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"They'll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform... that's where we see all of this going," he added.
Hayes said AI investment will be a "priority" for Meta over the next two years to help make its platforms "more entertaining and engaging" for users. Currently, users can access Meta AI to edit photos or create AI assistants.
The Financial Times also reported that Meta also plans on rolling out new text-to-video generation software for content creators to insert themselves into AI-created videos.
Experts warned about the harm AI-generated profiles could cause on social media platforms. (iStock / iStock)
Ahead of these rollouts, some experts warned that there needs to be significant guard rails installed to stop the technology from being "weaponized."
"Without robust safeguards, platforms risk amplifying false narratives through these AI-driven accounts," chief marketing officer at talent agency Billion Dollar Boy and former head of Meta's creator innovations team Becky Owen said to the Financial Times.
She also warned that an influx of AI users could actually dilute the brand by filling the platform with comparatively low-quality content.
She added, "Unlike human creators, these AI personas don’t have lived experiences, emotions, or the same capacity for relatability."
AI-generated content is currently required to include an "AI Info" label on Facebook.
In a comment to Fox Business, a Meta spokesperson touted the AI tool's abilities.
"With AI Studio, people can create and chat with AI characters which are AIs based on your interests. These can be built by anyone and used for utility, fun or support. You can build and discover AIs to help with things like teaching you how to cook, getting quick advice, generating captions, sharing advice on fashion or providing daily affirmations," the spokesperson said.
Though Meta has been making significant investments in AI, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in April that it may be a few years before they see any pay off from their AI technology.
Meta platforms are currently required to have a label indicating images that are AI-generated. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Historically, investing to build these new scaled experiences in our apps has been a very good long-term investment for us and for investors who have stuck with us and the initial signs are quite positive here, too. But building the leading AI will also be a larger undertaking than the other experiences we’ve added to our apps and this is likely going to take several years," Zuckerberg said.
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