Facebook deletes all AI character profiles on Insta after Meta backlash

meta have Close its AI character accounts Following the backlash, NBC News and others have reported.

While Meta launched these characters in 2023, as well AI people with famous avatarsMany online (re)discovered them recently this week Financial Times Interview with VP of Product Meta for Generative AI, Connor Hayes. “We hope that these AIs will actually, over time, be present on our platforms, as accounts do,” Hayes said, referring to AI characters on Instagram and Facebook.

“They will have bios and profile pictures and be able to create and share AI-powered content on the platform … This is where we see it all happening,” he continued.

Meta discontinued its popular AI avatars last yearBut the non-celebrity AI profiles continued – though Some stopped posting In 2024, 404 media reported. The Financial Times The interview, however, causes people to search for these profiles. What they discovered were derogatory depictions of marginalized groups. An example is the meta’s AI character profile “Liv,” who was described as the “proud black virgin mother of 2 and a truth teller”:

Tweets can be deleted

Liv said The Washington Post Columnist Karen Atiya In chats that its creators “admitted that they lacked diverse context,” later stating that No black people were involved in its creation.

In addition to Liv, Meta also created profiles such as “Grandpa Brian“A black retired businessman, and “Carter,” a dating coach. The discovery of these profiles created an uproar X, blueskyAnd meta-ownership the threadNBC News reported, and has since deleted the publication All 28 AI profiles It announced back in September 2023 – both celebrities and non-celebrities.

A Meta spokesperson told NBC News and 404 Media that these profiles were deleted due to a “bug” in users’ ability to block profiles:

Confusion: The recent Financial Times article was about our vision for AI characters on our platforms over time, not announcing any new products… The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. . They were managed by humans. And was part of an early experiment we did with AI characters. We’ve identified the bug that was affecting people’s ability to block those AIs and are removing those accounts to fix the problem.