Meta's AI Profiles Mirror the Annoying Spam That Overran Facebook

Meta, a major player in the social media world, has a bold plan that's causing quite a stir. They're planning to introduce AI profiles on Instagram and Facebook. Imagine these profiles as new "digital residents" with bios and profile pictures just like regular accounts. They have a special ability to keep creating and sharing AI-generated content, acting like tireless content creators.

However, the plan has sparked a lot of controversy. Many people complain that these AI profiles look like the AI spam that's already flooding Meta's platforms. They're like disguised spam messages, which can be annoying. In fact, Meta has been quietly controlling AI-generated profiles on Instagram and Facebook for over a year. But they've been ignored by users and were stopped from updating 10 months ago, like robots that lost power. Now, most of these AI profiles have been removed, and the few that remain haven't posted new content since April 2024. Their chat functions are still running, though, like they're trying to hold on to their last bit of "existence."

When people heard that Meta wanted AI bots to have a place on Facebook and Instagram, they reacted strongly and expressed their dislike. Some even got confused and thought existing bots were the new product announced by Meta executive Hayes to the Financial Times. But actually, Meta didn't release any new product. The news just made people rediscover the AI profiles that already existed, and they realized how poor the quality was. Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney explained that there was a misunderstanding and that the company is working hard to delete these accounts. She also said that these profiles were part of a test during the 2023 Connect event and were managed by humans. They were like "guinea pigs" for Meta's early experiments with AI profiles.

Meta's plan was a complete "disaster." It shows a harsh reality: people use social media to connect with friends and like-minded people, not to chat with cold robots. Yet, Meta seems obsessed with pushing AI content to users through algorithms. Look at the remaining profiles; they create ridiculous "characters" with either silly, offensive, or even creepy content, mixed with user-generated AI spam. It's hard to tell them apart. The failure of these profiles is like a slap in the face, reminding Meta and the industry that users hate being forced to interact with non-human AI profiles just so the platform can show more ads. Unfortunately, Meta doesn't seem to give up completely and is determined to keep going, no matter how many times they stumble.