Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
As companies race to develop and deploy artificial intelligence to enhance their computing technology, there are those that are looking at a more personal touch. Reports have started to surface that show Instagram exploring an AI friend feature that users can chat with. Instead of being an information or search engine tool like ChatGPT, this AI friend appears to be more of a social tool that users can chat with, not too dissimilar to the chatbots of yore.
On November 1, 2023, TechCrunch reported that Instagram is developing an AI friend feature. Aisha Malik of TechCrunch notes screenshots shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, which highlight the functionality of the AI friend.
According to the screenshots, Instagram will let users customize their AI friend, right down to its personality and ethnicity. Users can select the gender, ambiguous “ages” ranging from young to elderly, a variety of ethnicities, and with personalities like “reserved” or “empowering”.
But an AI friend isn’t good without interests, so users can select a few that “inform its personality and the nature of its conversations.” These interests are the standard fare like gaming, music, and anime, to nature, relationships, and even careers and education.
This news of Instagram entertaining the idea of an AI friend comes just days after the Biden administration signed an Executive Order for new AI safety standards. These standards have the goals of protecting users, require developers to have specific safeguards, and to ensure AI does not engineer “dangerous biological materials.” In response to this, Del Complex announced its plans to create a floating sovereign state to avoid the AI regulations.
Though creating an AI friend mightn’t have the same level of intensity as a floating building of armed militia, Malik does point out that there have been instances where users have allegedly acted on the advice of AI, to the detriment of themselves and others. As more companies look to explore and adopt AI, it will no doubt become more important to safeguard its use.
What do you think of Instagram’s AI friend feature? Is it just this generation’s version of the SmarterChild chatbot that was popular in the early 2000s on AOL and MSN or are companies delving into the unknown? We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on META’s exploration of artificial intelligence. Take a look at our AI page for more information on what other companies are doing in this new frontier.