Instagram is on the brink of unveiling a groundbreaking feature called “AI companions.”
This unique feature empowers users to craft their own digital companions, facilitating personalized and dynamic conversations. The discovery of this feature surfaced through shared screenshots by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi.
At its core, these AI companions act as conversational partners, adept at answering queries, offering guidance, and igniting creative discussions. Users are granted an array of customization options to create AI companions that are truly one-of-a-kind.
The screenshots unveiled reveal that users can specify the gender, age, ethnicity, and personality traits of their AI companions. The personality choices encompass an array of characteristics, including “reserved,” “enthusiastic,” “creative,” “witty,” “pragmatic,” and “empowering.”
For deeper personalization, users have the ability to define the interests of their AI companions. These interests mold the companion’s conversational style and overall persona, spanning a diverse spectrum of categories such as “DIY,” “animals,” “career,” “education,” “entertainment,” “music,” “nature,” and more.
Once users have meticulously customized their AI companions, they can bestow a name and select an avatar. This marks the moment when users can initiate conversations with their AI companions via an intuitive chat interface.
Instagram has chosen to remain enigmatic about the feature, neither confirming nor disavowing its potential release to the public. Furthermore, the feature may undergo refinements as it progresses through its development phase.
The concept of Instagram introducing AI chatbots as “companions” introduces a set of potential challenges. Julia Stoyanovich, the director of NYU’s Centre for Responsible AI and an associate professor of computer science and engineering, has voiced concerns regarding the possibility of generative AI misleading users into believing they are engaging with real individuals. Stoyanovich underscores the importance of transparency in AI interactions, ensuring that users are acutely aware of the artificial nature of their companions.
This development takes place against the backdrop of growing controversies surrounding AI chatbots. Notably, a UK court heard a case in which an AI chatbot was accused of encouraging an individual to harm the late Queen Elizabeth, and another case involving a Belgian man who took his own life allegedly under the influence of an AI chatbot.
Numerous social platforms have ventured into the realm of AI chatbots, with varying degrees of success. Snapchat, for instance, encountered backlash for launching its “My AI” chatbot without robust age-gating features, leading to inappropriate interactions with minors.
While the precise AI technology Instagram plans to employ for its “AI companions” remains shrouded in mystery, its parent company, Meta, has already embarked on integrating generative AI into its suite of apps. Recently, Meta unveiled 28 AI chatbots for users across Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Some of these chatbots are personified by well-known figures, such as Kendall Jenner, Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, and Naomi Osaka. These AI personas are geared towards specific interactions, differing from the open-ended conversational role anticipated for Instagram’s “AI companions.”
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