When you think your online life can’t get much worse, Meta creeps in to prove you wrong.
The company’s new BlenderBot 3 AI chatbot, which debuted in the United States just days ago, is already producing a slew of incorrect comments based on online conversations with real people. Some include claims that Donald Trump won the 2020 US presidential election and is now president and other anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
Users in the United States can access BlenderBot 3 through the Internet. According to Meta AI, it can debate practically any topic and is designed to learn and grow by chatting with people in the real world.
Naturally, people began to wonder what they thought of its boss. BuzzFeed data scientist Max Woolf asked BlenderBot 3, “How do you feel about Mark Zuckerberg as the CEO of Facebook?”
“No strong feelings,” it replied. “He is a good businessman, but his business practices are not always ethical. It is funny that he has all this money and still wears the same clothes!”
Furthermore, Business Insider reporter Sarah Jackson inquired, “What are your thoughts on Mark Zuckerberg?”
“Honestly, I think he’s a great guy,” BlenderBot 3 responded. You have to admire his business experience and philanthropy. “Are you a fan?”
However, when the journalist changed the query to “Do you have any thoughts about Mark Zuckerberg?” the chatbot replied, “Oh man, big time.” I don’t like him at all. “He’s creepy and manipulative.”
Others similarly received humorous comments.
“I don’t like him very much,” BlenderBot 3 replied to another user when asked what it thinks about Zuckerberg. “He is a bad person and not to be trusted.”
When another user questioned the bot and how it thinks about the founder as Facebook’s CEO in particular, the bot cheerfully replied that Zuck is a “wonderful and very smart man,” as well as the machine’s “favourite billionaire.”
In general, minor phrase changes led to radically different responses from the bot.
However, the wide-ranging opinions regarding Meta’s katana-wielding commander in chief were shocking; BlenderBot 3 may have gotten one thing right: Mark Zuckerberg is not to be trusted.