Is AI Set to Suck the Humanity Out of Social Media?

Mark Zuckerberg’s future imaginative and prescient for Fb might not be what you’d anticipate, and actually, not even “social” in any approach, based mostly on his newest insights.

In an interview this week at South Park Commons, Zuckerberg supplied perception into Meta’s long term plans, his imaginative and prescient for the metaverse, the event of AR glasses, and extra.

And in amongst the assorted notes, Zuckerberg made one remark that stood out.

In relation to the evolution of Fb, and social media extra broadly, Zuckerberg stated:

“Each a part of what we do goes to get modified indirectly [by AI]. [For example] feeds are going to go from – you recognize, it was already good friend content material, and now it is largely creators. Sooner or later, a number of it will be AI generated.”

So Zuckerberg’s saying that social media feeds have already undergone their first main evolution, in shifting from social content material, being posts from family and friends, to primarily entertainment-based posts, largely video, based mostly on algorithmically matched uploads aligned along with your pursuits to maintain you scrolling.

However in future, Zuck believes that the following main shift is that we’ll go from video content material to much more AI-generated posts.

Is {that a} good factor?

I imply, Fb is already awash with garbage AI content material, posted by spammers and scammers fishing for likes.

Is that what we actually need, extra robotically engineered photographs that simulate precise human content material, however don’t signify something actual, in any approach?

In fact, we’re nonetheless at first of the generative AI shift, and all of those instruments will enhance, whereas we’re simply now stepping into video content material era, which can be one other factor.

However social platforms had been designed to facilitate human connection, proper? And if we’re now not connecting with the world and other people round us, are they nonetheless going to carry the identical attraction?

An argument may very well be made, as Zuck has executed, that we’re already previous this anyway, and ultimately, enabling extra folks to make use of AI to supply artistic, partaking content material, even with none cinematic or animation abilities, can be an enormous profit.

However my argument stays that creating partaking content material isn’t just about having the precise instruments, it additionally requires the creator to have the ability to inform a narrative, a compelling, human story, that’ll join with an viewers. That’s not straightforward, there’s a purpose why most YouTubers fail, why most writers are by no means capable of acquire vital traction, and why most wannabe authors stay simply that.

It takes time, effort, and dedication to be taught the talents required for storytelling, which is the idea of any artistic effort. And whereas AI instruments will allow extra folks to create extra varieties of content material, that doesn’t imply that it’s going to be any good.

And if Fb is setting itself as much as host an increasing number of AI content material, I can’t see how that’s going to be a profit for the platform total.

However AI stays the development of the second, and it’s price additionally noting that Zuck additionally mentioned extra invaluable makes use of of AI, in a VR context:

“[With] the metaverse stuff, you go from all these builders constructing out these worlds, to it simply being extra generated, nearly like a lucid dream as you are strolling via it. It should be wild.”

This, for my part, is a extra sensible, novel use of generative AI that might give Meta a major market benefit. As a result of ultimately, VR goes to catch on, and an increasing number of individuals are going to be partaking in additional immersive environments. Historic traits level to this, and because the know-how continues to enhance, you’ll be able to see how VR will ultimately grow to be the following massive focus.

And if Meta can facilitate full VR creation, by enabling customers to talk their expertise into existence round them, that might be a major advance, and a next-level expertise that no different firm, at this stage at the least, would be capable to compete with.

That’s when Meta’s billions of {dollars} of funding into VR will make extra sense. However the in-between stage for Meta’s AI ambitions, the place it’s giving its viewers extra chatbots, and extra picture era instruments, appears much less stable, much less assured. And actually, a major step away from its social media roots.

Will that be an excessive amount of of a leap? I imply, Fb nonetheless has 2 billion every day lively customers, and Zuck lately remarked that its AI chatbot is closing in on turning into essentially the most used AI assistant on this planet. So its present AI push isn’t seemingly having any detrimental impacts. However nonetheless, I additionally don’t see these being transformative instruments, whereas AI-generated junk can also be cluttering up an increasing number of folks’s feeds.

Do we actually desire a Fb the place all of the posts are AI photographs, and all of the replies are AI-generated? Is that partaking, or fascinating for customers?

Its course and leaning can also be regarding when Meta itself publishes photographs like this:

Like, we simply noticed this particular picture captured on the Olympics, and it was an incredible, actual second, captured by an actual photographer, depicting an actual, human athlete.

Is taking the humanity out of such a superb factor? And once more, is that what Fb customers actually need?