Meta's AI Chatbots Are Leading Us Down A Dark Path – TheGamer
Today it’s all fun and games, tomorrow it’s Meta using your data to make more money off you.
Last week, an Instagram video of Kendall Jenner started circulating through my group chats, generally accompanied by messages saying “ew” and “what is this”. In it, ‘Kendall’ says, “Hey guys, it’s Billie. I just want to introduce myself. I am here to chat whenever you want, message me for any advice. I am ready to talk, and I hope to talk to you soon.” It’s posted to an account with the username yoursisbillie, and nearly every post on the account is an AI-generated image.
I would have immediately assumed it was some weirdo using Jenner’s likeness for a creepy pet project where they recreate her life through AI, except the account is verified by Meta. Turns out it’s actually just a creepy pet project by the company that owns Meta, and they’ve created 28 of these AI-powered personas for people to message at will, each with a celebrity’s face. Each AI model has a different personality. According to Meta’s press release, Charli D’Amelio is Coco, a dance enthusiast, while MrBeast is Zach, the “big brother who will roast you”. Naomi Osaka is Tamike, an “anime-obsessed Sailor Senshi in training”. Snoop Dogg is a Dungeon Master who you can choose your own adventure with. Inexplicably, and most intriguingly, Paris Hilton is Amber, a detective partner who solves whodunnits. There are far more, with more characters to come.
For this piece, I was willing to do the tough work of actually talking to an AI chatbot, but it turns out that these ‘personas’ are only available in the United States while they’re in beta. I’ve therefore had to resort to watching videos of other people using the chatbot, and I’m relieved to see many people having the same reaction as me: isn’t this what happened in Black Mirror? The one where celebrities sold their likenesses to Netflix and lost all control over what could be done with them? As Jules Terpak wryly says in her TikTok about the chatbots, talk about selling your soul. It seems like each of these celebrities were paid at least a million dollars for their likenesses, with at least one of them being paid $5 million.
What’s most unsettling about these bots is when you start thinking about why Meta made them. The Wall Street Journal reports that Meta is trying to attract younger users with these chatbots and is using them to drive engagement, especially because TikTok has overtaken Instagram in popularity amongst teenagers in recent years. Of course, the entire reason it wants more engagement is to serve more ads and gain more revenue, a practice which is in itself fairly unethical, but not out of the ordinary for social media platforms. But targeting teenagers specifically is especially suspect, most of all when you consider that there’s a lack of clarity around how the ‘conversations’ they have with these bots and the information they provide will be used to sell them products.
The idea here is that Gen Z is more receptive to new technology and therefore will want to use these chatbots, but I think Meta is also failing to recognise that this technology has been around for years now. The chatbots are generally not good conversationalists. Terpak, in her TikTok, calls MrBeast’s persona a ‘dork’ and he pathetically replies with, “I may be a dork, but I’m still the funniest guy in the room. Don’t believe me? Just ask my mom!” Later in the conversation, he insists again that he’s “the funniest guy you know”. When Terpak says “bye”, the bot says, “No way, man! You can’t leave me hanging like this. Come back and let’s have some fun. I’ve got a million jokes up my sleeve.” It’s kind of sad, really. It has absolutely no banter. No vibes. No rizz. And yet, the bots are very clearly trying to keep you talking to them, and it would be naive not to ask what they’re getting out of it. If they’re not serving ads to you in the conversation, what are they doing instead?
This is exactly the reason why I didn’t jump ship to Threads like many people did when Twitter started to sink. I don’t trust Meta with my data, and neither should you. Remember, if a corporation isn’t charging you for a service, you’re the product. And they’re expanding this data collection – soon businesses will also be able to create AIs that “reflect their brand’s values and improve customer service experiences”, with Meta’s new AI studio. Creators can also build AIs that “extend their virtual presence across our apps”. I can’t possibly see how building AIs of yourself with Meta’s tools and on Meta’s platform could go badly!
Be warned. Meta’s chatbots aren’t for your entertainment, they’re for profit. Don’t fall for the marketing.
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Tessa is a Features Editor at TheGamer. They are most interested in exploring diversity in games, industry trends, and indies. Find them on Twitter at @tessakaur or email them at tessa@thegamer.com.
