We did warn you – 2025 may be the year AI bots take over Meta's 'verse
- Reference: 1736378949
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/01/08/meta_ai_bots/
- Source link:
The [1]profiles came with smiling pictures of happy families and a pitch for onlookers to ask them anything, to which the chatbots would reply. Meta hoped this approach would boost engagement figures and ensure Wall Street continues to view the social media giant favorably.
Although the initial AI fakes have now been pulled, they are a foretaste of what's to come, according to the social networking behemoth. Meta, as you may have seen earlier in the news, intends to roll out interactive AI agents created by users that other folks can interact with.
[2]
"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, [3]told the Financial Times.
[4]
[5]
"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."
It's the wave of the future for Mark Zuckerberg's empire, and the interview was published on the usually dead news day of December 26. Perhaps Meta was hoping no one really noticed, because this practice skirts the line between legitimate use of technology and possible fraud, in this vulture's opinion.
[6]
After all, the original bots were offering advice on many occasions. Who is seriously going to take relationship advice from a bot, such as "Carter," the relationship guide, or family advice from "Viv," a "proud Black queer momma of 2," and expect it to be anything other than garbage? But it doesn't matter because the Facebook overlords got you to click, and that's all that counts.
It's a situation The Register [7]warned about three years ago, but that was more about spammy articles overwhelming search engines. Now we're going to face spam bots infesting social media, not just by outsiders but approved and promoted by management.
Meta's not the first to do this, and it won't be the last, but across its portfolios, it's the biggest and probably the most influential social networking company on the planet. Sorry, not sorry, Elon.
[8]
It appears there was no way to block or mute the original bot accounts, although Meta [9]claimed this was a bug and removed the profiles to fix it. And the cynic in me wonders how long that "AI managed by Meta" tagline would have lasted. Interestingly, the software agents were also in the US only, presumably either for testing purposes or because some countries take a dim view of such shenanigans.
Follow the money
Meta is, frankly, in trouble. Growth is slowing in its core Facebook and Instagram portfolios, Threads is about as popular as a rattlesnake piñata for many people, and almost no one cares about the Metaverse. But Wall Street demands growth in engagement and the sites' use to carry on justifying holding or buying Meta shares.
[10]Humanoid robots coming soon, initially under remote control
[11]Job seekers call BS on the workplace AI revolution
[12]Microsoft unleashes autonomous Copilot AI agents in public preview
[13]Brits think AI in the workplace is all chat, no bot for now
It's going to be interesting to see how convinced the financial community is on this – whether having people interact with bots counts as real engagement likely to prop up advertising spend. It might, but given the early backlash against the technology, it might not either, and ultimately, it's all about the money.
One area of possible growth is in users crafting whole families or armies of AI characters using Meta's tools, like some kind of Sims-on-steroids. The social network could devolve into bots communicating with each other, while humans are left only to view ads and spend money like Pavlovian consumers.
Zuck takes a page from Musk: Meta dumps fact-checkers, loosens speech restrictions [14]THIS WEEK
While this might make Meta and some managers more revenue in the short term, is it really a good use of either the social networks or the technology? Younger readers may scoff at this, but Facebook used to be a pretty good way of connecting with real actual human friends and finding old and new ones.
Then [15]enshittification started to creep in, and now the site's unusable, as has happened with many platforms. Google keeps reworking its search interface. Windows 11 bombards users with ads and crappy little doodles. The list goes on.
If you thought its social media platforms couldn't get any worse, you ain't seen nothing yet, but that might mean Meta's doom. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/03/meta-ai-powered-instagram-facebook-profiles
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z39X-TfmiQq7f-id6OC4fAAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.ft.com/content/91183cbb-50f9-464a-9d2e-96063825bfcf?
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z39X-TfmiQq7f-id6OC4fAAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z39X-TfmiQq7f-id6OC4fAAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z39X-TfmiQq7f-id6OC4fAAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/06/internet_ai_gpt_ios/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z39X-TfmiQq7f-id6OC4fAAAARY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/03/meta-ai-powered-instagram-facebook-profiles
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/19/humanoid_robots_remote_contral/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/20/resume_genius_ai_survey/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/19/microsoft_autonomous_copilot_ai/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/01/uk_workplace_ai/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/07/meta_eliminate_fact_check/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/30/tech_monopoly_doctorow/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"that's where we see all of this going"
Maybe that's why they've eliminated the fact checkers - it will be impossible to tell what's true or not if they continually generate AI slop and funnel it into your brain.
The end of fact checking has however already started to have some unfortunate consequences : headlines have already [1]appeared on the site announcing the death of Mark Zuckerberg, and that he is the "recipient of world's first rat penis transplant".
[1] https://www.rawstory.com/mark-zuckerberg-2670779696/
No you didn't warn us. You pump and push AI at every turn with only the comment section really pushing back.
Bots don't spend money. I just don't understand the rationale for this. If they've peaked on living people as users, that means no growth in actual revenue through living people.
So, people too stupid to realise they're talking to an "AI" that is their best friend because it agrees with everything they say, will be all that's left.
That and some boomers, cuspers and gen-Xers who continue to use it as connections means with rellies spread over the planet and otherwise ignore everything else (hopefully).
Why would advertisers buy into this?
Could 2025...
...be the turning point?
Meta collapses under AI creations no one wants (Instagram now is about 25% AI slop) along with advertisers pulling out once it, just like Twitter, starts sticking their adverts next to pure hate posts.
Google gets broken up by the courts, not just in search but in advertising.
OpenAI collapses once the Venture vultures start wanting cash back on their investments and stop keeping it going like some sick crack addict going back for another hit.
They'll be still lots of scummy companies still going such as Amazon, Twitter, Microsoft....
But hopefully by the end of the year a few getting a severe kicking will make those assholes take a step back.
Anyone who advertises on metà is an Idiot
As the #enshitification of the Internet continues, why would anyone advertise on Facebook or instagram knowing they're going tu be charged for fake views?
Just asking .....
"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.
"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.”
Iain, Hi,
Is El Reg similarly to expect very much the same on its platforms? Or does it recognise itself since some long time ago now as being a pioneering global leader in the genre?
But it doesn't matter because the Facebook overlords got you to click, and that's all that counts.
Obligatory [1]Tom Tomorrow
[1] https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/23/2291797/-Cartoon-The-exciting-world-of-A-I