Summary
Meta is experimenting with AI-generated comments on Instagram. The feature is available to some users, and it's unclear if a wider rollout will happen.
AI-generated comments feel incredibly unnecessary, and could make the Instagram comment section worse.
Other platforms like LinkedIn already have AI-generated comments, and Gmail has added AI-generated suggested replies.
In the past couple of years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has opened the door to a host of new technologies, including ChatGPT , Google Gemini, Apple Intelligence , Alexa+, and more. AI is everywhere now, and it's hard to avoid hearing the term from any major tech company nowadays.
In particular, Meta has been busy developing its own AI model, which it has already implemented in apps like Facebook and Instagram. The company has already had its fair share of issues with AI-generated characters , so naturally it's decided to make matters worse and bring its AI to the Instagram comment section.
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Instagram is a popular social media platform for connecting with friends and sharing photos.
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Meta AI wants to deliver your thoughts for you
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According to a report from Social Media Today, Meta is experimenting with AI-generated comments on Instagram posts. The feature is currently only available for some users and is represented by a pencil with a star icon next to the comment fields on a post. When you select the option, Meta AI generates a list of possible responses to the video or photo post you're looking at.
The feature has no official launch date, and Meta is just testing it for now, so it's possible it might not fully implement the feature. However, given Meta's push for AI-generated characters and other AI-related content, I have a funny feeling this feature will be here to stay to relieve the heavy burden that is writing an Instagram comment yourself. Did anybody actually ask for this?
AI-generated comments are trying to solve a problem that didn't exist, and is a feature nobody asked for.
Meta's exact reason for implementing and experimenting with this feature isn't certain, but based on decisions it made in the past, and that Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, it was likely added in an attempt to increase engagement.
On the surface, AI-generated comments aren't that harmful, and users are not forced to use them. A user on Threads posted an example of the feature in action, and it provided AI-generated responses to a post based on its contents; in this case, it was a guy standing in a living room with the caption "Yo." Meta AI then generated three possible comments, including "cute living room setup," "Love the cozy atmosphere," and "great photo shoot location." All of which are pretty barebones responses and don't really match the vibe of the post.
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Meta woke up and said lets make Instagram comments worse
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One of my main frustrations with AI-generated comments on Instagram is that they strip away the personality and thoughtfulness of commenting. Leaving a comment is already quite simple, and having AI do it for you feels unnecessary. AI-generated replies lack a human touch, and using them diminishes the personal connection when commenting on a friend or family member's post. Plus, Instagram is already flooded with comments from bots and low-effort comments from human users as it is, and having a bunch of AI-generated responses on posts won't help anybody.
I'm not suggesting that AI-generated comments will make people less intelligent, but that we shouldn't let AI handle even the simplest tasks, like commenting on a post about someone's cat.
Additionally, I believe relying too much on AI can hinder our critical thinking skills . I'm not suggesting that AI-generated comments will make people less intelligent, but that we shouldn't let AI handle even the simplest tasks, like commenting on a post about someone's cat.
It's important to note AI-generated comments aren't new, and other companies are doing it already. LinkedIn notably has AI-generated comments on its platform, and Gmail has started recommending users AI-generated suggested replies to emails. But in the case of Instagram, it seems like AI-generated comments are trying to solve a problem that didn't exist, and is a feature nobody asked for.
Instagram's AI-generated comments are just an experimental feature, and aren't available to all users yet. But for a social media platform that is all about connecting and communicating with others, AI-generated comments seem like a step in the wrong direction.
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