Conversational AI on Instagram: Meta Develops AI Chatbot for Personalized Conversations

Since the emergence of ChatGPT last year, various technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI) have been gaining attention. In particular, numerous companies are interested in developing AI chatbots similar to ChatGPT.

Google unveiled its ChatGPT counterpart, Bard, in February, and Microsoft applied ChatGPT to its search engine, Bing. Meta, formerly Facebook, has been continuously conducting AI-related research, releasing the large language model (LLM) LLaMA as open source and making efforts for the overall development of the industry.

Meta, focusing on generative AI in Metaverse

Since the launch of LLaMA, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has been emphasizing generative AI. The company plans to apply productive AI technology to various platforms of Meta, such as Facebook and Instagram and has established a dedicated department for generative AI.

Meta had a strong belief in the Metaverse just last year, even changing its company name from Facebook to Meta to reflect its investment in this area. However, as the competition for generative AI is fierce in the industry, it is analyzed that the company will put more effort into this area.

Also, they own an AI research institute. Started in 2013 as the Facebook AI Research Institute, it is now called Meta AI. Having conducted AI research for nearly a decade, considering the data accumulated daily on Instagram, used by 2 billion people, and Facebook, used by 3 billion people, Meta’s generative AI is evaluated to have enormous potential due to the generative AI learning from internet data.

Instagram is developing a user-customized AI chatbot

And now, an AI chatbot tailored to user preferences is expected to be used on Instagram soon. According to TechCrunch on November 2nd (local time), Instagram, Meta’s flagship social media platform, is developing an ‘AI friend’ feature that users can customize and converse with as they wish.

This feature was revealed through a screenshot shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi. In June, Paluzzi suggested that Instagram might be developing an AI chatbot, and this time, he shared a more detailed screenshot. Through this feature, users can ask questions, discuss problems, get ideas, and have conversations on various topics. It seems to be a chatbot that can provide information like ChatGPT yet allows for more open conversations.

According to the screenshot shared by Paluzzi, users can choose the gender, age, race, and personality of the AI friend to converse with. They can also choose a name and corresponding avatar profile. The avatar profile is also believed to be an image created by AI. It’s so similar to a real person’s photo that you might feel like you’re talking to a real person when using this feature. Once all the chatbot options are selected, you can move to the chat window to start a conversation with the chatbot.

Controversy surrounding AI chatbot features in social media…is Instagram safe?

Of course, Instagram has not officially announced the testing of this feature, so it may not be released to the public at all, or it may be partially modified. However, considering the considerable controversy caused by the introduction of AI chatbot features on other SNS platforms over the past year, there are expected to be mixed reactions to the launch of this feature.

In February, Snapchat launched a My AI chatbot, which caused controversy as it allowed unrestricted use, leading to sexual and alcohol-related conversations. However, Snapchat was unable to control this technically.

At the end of September, Meta unveiled AI stickers and AI-based image editing tools across its apps. The company also announced plans to expand its AI world. Therefore, the AI friend feature in Instagram might not feel out of place even if it is released immediately.

By. Lee Soo Hyun