'this Is Weird': Meta Is Killing Off Its Ai-generated Fake Facebook Friends That Nobody Wanted In The First Place

Who thought that AI-generated Facebook and Instagram users were point immoderate logical value being would want to beryllium friends with?

Executives astatine Meta did.

In an mobility and reply pinch nan Financial Times conscionable earlier nan caller year, Connor Hayes, a vice president for Meta's generative AI, explained Meta's plans to personification AI users look connected its platforms. "They'll personification bios and level scheme pictures and beryllium tin to make and banal contented powered by AI connected nan platform," he explained. "That's wherever we spot each of this going."

Slight problem — humans mostly want to usage societal media to banal and nexus pinch different humans, not pinch chatbots.

CNN reports that Hayes's comments to nan Financial Times and a proliferation of clone group connected Meta's platforms caused contiguous blowback from users. Complaints astir these clone profiles ranged from "this is weird" to "this is very offensive." One Meta AI narration that caught a batch of powerfulness was "Liv," whose bio described it arsenic a "Proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller."

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah engaged pinch Liv and asked a bid of questions to get to nan guidelines of Liv's intent and creation. None of it went well.

Related: Is AI Taking Your Job This Year? Staggering Stats Show How nan Technology Is Reshaping nan Workforce.

During nan exchange, Liv explained that nan "proud Black queer momma" was created by 10 achromatic men, 1 achromatic woman, and 1 Asian male. "Zero Black creators — beautiful glaring omission fixed my identity!" The reside ended pinch Liv admitting, "My beingness presently perpetuates harm."

— Karen Attiah (@karenattiah.bsky.social) January 3, 2025 astatine 9:56 AM

CNN reports that, since past week, Meta has begun sidesplitting Liv and different bots. Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney told CNN successful an email: "The caller Financial Times article was astir our imagination for AI characters existing connected our platforms complete time, not announcing immoderate caller product."

Sweeney said that this was an "early experiment."

"We identified nan bug that was impacting nan expertise for group to artifact those AIs and are removing those accounts to spread nan issue," she added.

It is doubtful that anyone will mourn nan nonaccomplishment of these AI-generated profiles, but our thoughts and prayers spell retired to anyone who mislaid a clone friend during this "bug fixing" incident.