The artificial intelligence chatbot for Snapchat panicked users on Tuesday night when it stopped responding to messages and uploaded a live update to its profile.
The ChatGPT-powered Snapchat My AI function often provides recommendations, responds to queries, and engages in conversation with users. But publishing a live Story for all Snapchat users to see—a brief video of what looked to be a wall—was a first. It is a capability that is normally limited to its human users.
The app’s users quickly expressed their worries on social media. One user inquired, “Why does My AI include a video of the wall & ceiling in their house as their story?” This is quite strange and genuinely unsettling. After the gadget ignored his messages, another user responded, “Even a robot ain’t got time for me.”
It turns out that Snapchat wasn’t attempting to make its My AI tool even more convincing by doing this. On Wednesday, the business informed CNN that it was a problem. A spokeswoman added, “My AI suffered a brief outage that has been rectified.
Spotlight on issues with AI
However, the negative response brought to light the widespread apprehensions about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
Since its April release, the function has drawn criticism from both parents and some Snapchat users, who have expressed worries about privacy, “creepy” interactions, and the inability to remove the feature out of their chat feed without paying a premium subscription.
Snapchat’s AI tool differs significantly from some other AI tools in that users may customize the chatbot’s name, create a unique Bitmoji avatar for it, and use it in interactions with friends. Overall, speaking with Snapchat’s chatbot may seem less transactional than going to ChatGPT’s website. It might also be less obvious that you are conversing with a computer.
Even though some people might find a use for the service, the mixed response highlighted the difficulties businesses may encounter when integrating new generative AI technologies into their platforms, particularly in those with a younger user base like Snapchat.
When OpenAI gave access to ChatGPT to outside companies, Snapchat was a pioneering launch partner. Many more are anticipated to follow.