Meta envisions AI account takeover

Welcome to 2025 everyone! We're not even 2 weeks in, yet the biggest tech-based backlash of the year may have just begun.

Meta - Facebook and Instagram's parent company - has publicly set out a vision for the social media experience of tomorrow. And, from their perspective, it's loaded with AI-generated bots.

Thing is, AI-powered accounts and content aren't even new to FB or Insta! But, a recent comment by a high-up Meta AI official quickly turned existing mixed reactions from the public into fever-pitch rejection.

Hot damn - what was even said?

Late last year (still feels weird saying that), Meta's VP of product for generative AI Connor Hayes looked into his crystal ball and told the Financial Times that AI-generated accounts would "over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that [human] accounts do."

"They’ll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform ...that’s where we see all of this going," he continued.

He said the drive behind this plan was to make Meta's apps 'more entertaining and engaging' by filling FB and Insta with more 'people' to follow. This would create a greater variety of ways to hold users' attention and keep them online for longer.

Specifically, Hayes was talking about non-human accounts made through Meta's AI Studio. This is a tool launched last July that lets anyone create and train their own AI characters, including mirror versions of themselves.

He says hundreds of thousands of these characters exist already. However, right now most are private and can't be looked up.

The backlash to his comments in the Financial Times story was swift. Many online users cited 'Dead Internet Theory', a conspiracy theory suggesting the internet and its algorithms are mostly driven by bots - not actual people.

A few days after the article came out, Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney clarified with media that the company's vision was for 'AI characters existing on our platforms over time', rather than a sudden flood of company-crafted bots, as most people interpreted.

The great AI purge (for now)

The news of Meta's plans prompted digital hunters to seek out 28 existing AI accounts made by the company and bombard them with negative comments and private messages.

The bots hadn't been active in several months. But all the punches thrown prompted Meta to delete them and scrub their digital footprints.

Despite all the controversy, Meta's still confident in its heavy investments in AI on its platforms and shows no clear signs of turning back.

We talked about both the benefits and downfalls of Meta's AI Studio back in August. But 5 months on, there are still big question marks around how authentic human-to-AI connections can feel. We're also still unsure whether they pose a threat to genuine bonds between creators and their audiences.

So for now, don't let this drama deter you from at least exploring all these big updates. If you think having an AI character out there could help you boost your presence, why not give it a try?

Just know, while feelings about AI accounts could change over time, this past week has shown people aren't exactly in love with them right now.

-Devin

-Sophie, Writer