AI Social Media Users Are Not Always a Totally Dumb Idea

Meta caused a stir last week when it let slip that it intends to populate its platform with a significant number of entirely artificial users in the not too distant future. “We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do,” Connor Hayes, vice-president of product for generative AI at Meta, told The Financial Times. that’s where we see all of this going.” The fact that Meta seems happy to fill its platform with AI slop and accelerate the “enshittification” of the internet as we know it is concerning. These included for example, “Liv,” a “proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller, your realest source of life’s ups & downs,” a persona that went viral as people marveled at its awkward sloppiness. It’s worth noting that AI-generated social personas can also be a valuable research tool for scientists looking to explore how AI can mimic human behavior.