Get ready for your Facebook group to be a lot more robotic, potentially, in the new year.
Meta is currently prompting Facebook group admins to sign-up for its coming generative AI elements for group management, which will include content recommendations, new topic filters and generative AI post prompts.
As you can see in this example screen, posted by social media expert Matt Navarra, Meta’s asking admins to sign up for the waitlist for its coming AI tools, with suggestions that it’ll be able to answer questions from members, among other things.
Some group admins can already access Meta’s AI tools, with user Roxane Nadeau sharing this example of Meta’s AI post prompts in action.
As the example shows, when composing your group post, admins and users will have access to AI tools to help refine their message, including one-tap options to make their post more emotional, more professional and more.
Which I don’t really think is the best use of generative AI tools. I mean, sure, they can help you refine your messaging and the wording of your content, based on the billions of examples built into the training dataset (and worth noting, Meta’s AI systems are trained on Facebook and IG posts, so it should make them pretty good for this usage). But at the same time, the more we’re relying on AI systems to write content for us and for composing replies to those posts, the more it’s just going to be bots talking to other bots, which could take the “social” and human element out of social media connection.
Of course, some people will like the assistance, as the tech will be able to correct their grammar and make them sound better in group chats. That could help to encourage more participation. But I personally don’t like the trend towards chatbots engaging with chatbots, with humans essentially becoming digital puppet masters merely observing such interactions.
Meta first previewed its coming group AI tools earlier this month, when it also noted that its discovery tools help refine group engagement:
“We’re also testing using Meta AI to surface relevant information in Groups, so you don’t miss out on the conversations that matter most, and suggest topics for new chats, helping you stay active in your communities.”
I don’t know, there does seem like some value here, but I also don’t want the robots to take over actual discussion.
Can there be a middle ground when these tools are so readily available? Will it improve the group discussion experience, or hurt it?
I guess we won’t know till they’re rolled out, which is in progress now.
