The next step of Meta’s AI push is here, with Meta launching its new AI Studio platform in the U.S., which will enable anyone to create their own AI bots, built on Meta’s systems.
As you can see in this example, Meta’s new AI character creation process will prompt you with ideas to get started, or you can create your own from scratch.
The process enables you to build a profile for your character, either, again, based on Meta’s templates or your own descriptions.
You can then ask your AI character questions within your IG DMs.
Meta says that these custom AIs will be able to provide advice on various tasks, based on Meta’s Llama LLM. So now you can build your own AI bot that can teach you how to cook, play games with you, provide movie tips, whatever you like.
Meta’s also launching second type of AI character, with creators able to build AI bots that will act as an extension of themselves.
The idea of these bots is that they’ll be able to answer common fan questions and story replies on the creators’ behalf, saving time and effort for their human masters. They’ll also be able to provide tips in the creators’ voice, as well as links back to their other content. Meta says that creators can customize their AI responses “based on things like their Instagram content, facts about themselves, and topics to avoid”.
So, even more AI bots are coming to Meta’s apps, though I remain unconvinced that anyone really wants custom bots that’ll engage with them in a specific way.
I thought the same with Meta’s celebrity-influenced AI bots, why does it matter if the bot responds in the voice of Kendall Jenner when it isn’t actually Kendall Jenner responding?
Like, isn’t that a key element of social media, that it’s actually, you know, “social”? At the same time, the fact that you can actually communicate with real celebrities via these platforms is also a key allure. Right?
How do bots provide an alternative to that?
I don’t know. Really, it seems like bots have been a key pain point for social media users for years, and now Meta’s trying to re-frame them as a good thing, as it leans into the latest tech trend. But they are bots, they’re automated responder tools, the very same that have annoyed us forever, just re-skinned with shiny new celebrity and influencer shells to make them more palatable.
Or they’re the ones that we regular users create, which are AI-generated images for AI-generated replies.
Of course, they’re much more capable than old-school bots, in terms of how they can respond, and the depth of conversation you can have with them. But does that really matter? Really, it just feels like a gradual degradation of human connection in social apps, as we move towards a new future where robots end up beeping and blooping to other robots in comment sections across the way.
Is that what people really want, and will these custom AI bots see any use?
I’m willing to bet they’re not going to be a major hit, but Meta’s really keen to integrate AI however it can, so it’s going to make a big push, however it can.
So, custom bots. Ahoy.
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