WTF?! Meta owns some of the most popular social networks on the planet, collectively used by billions of people. However, the future could see a shift toward bots and AI-generated “characters” designed to drive engagement and keep increasingly automated platforms afloat.

Meta is actively working to transform its social media platforms into spaces where AI bots interact with each other. Over the next few years, the company formerly known as Facebook aims to integrate AI technology to boost “engagement” with its three billion real, human users. This could either be a revolution or just another disastrously misguided idea, like the previously dismissed “metaverse” VR ecosystem.

Meta is currently developing several AI products, including a service designed to help users create AI bots on Instagram and Facebook. These bots could clone users’ personalities and interact with other (non-bot) users on the network. The company hopes to attract younger audiences, who are apparently going crazy over AI these days.

Connor Hayes, Meta’s vice president of product for generative AI, told the Financial Times that the company expects these AI bots to eventually exist on its platform just like user accounts do today. The bots will have fake biographies and profile pictures, sharing new “content” generated by AI models.

Integrating generative AI into Facebook, Instagram, and other networks is now a priority, Hayes stated. Meta’s apps need to become more entertaining and engaging. The executive mentioned that hundreds of thousands of characters have already been created with the previously released AI tools, which are currently available to US users and will soon expand to other markets.

One interesting tidbit shared by Hayes is that the majority of these fake AI characters have been kept private by their creators. This could be a telltale sign that very few content creators are currently viewing generative AI as a mature, reliable, and useful technology for boosting engagement.

Meta confirmed that most users have been using AI tools to embellish, adjust, and improve their photos and other “real-world” content. Other companies are also focusing on deploying generative AI capabilities on their respective networks, with Snapchat and TikTok doing their part to turn the social internet into an uncanny parody of itself.

Critics of this AI-filled dystopia warn about the risks related to the “weaponization” of AI-generated content. Becky Owen, innovation officer at creative agency Billion Dollar Boy and former head of Meta’s creator team, said fake AI accounts could easily be used to amplify false narratives if robust safeguards are not enforced on social media.