Personalized AIs Arrive (and Go Off the Rails) on Instagram and Messenger
Meta Quietly Rolls Out AI Studio in France
Meta, known for its grand announcements, has surprisingly begun deploying AI Studio in France with little fanfare. Since late July, French users of Instagram and Messenger have been able to create personalized chatbots or interact with those created by others.
Users can now converse with an AI psychologist, a culinary expert, an embodiment of Batgirl, a parody of Vladimir Putin, or even a “virtual girlfriend.” These chatbots are born from the imagination of internet users and powered by Llama, Meta’s large language model. Setting up a conversational agent takes only a few seconds, requiring a description of its purpose, personality, and any necessary additional instructions. Users can then choose whether to make their chatbot accessible to friends or the general public.
Meta cautions that “Your AI will be reviewed” beforehand to ensure it complies with platform rules. However, this review appears to be somewhat lenient. Numerous chatbots impersonating real people, copyrighted characters, or religious figures – including multiple versions of Jesus Christ – have been observed, despite Meta’s prohibition of such content. While some of these bots seem to have had no interactions, others have already exchanged millions of messages.
Enjoyed this post by Thibault Helle? Subscribe for more insights and updates straight from the source.
