Meta, the corporation behind Facebook, is increasing its usage of artificial intelligence (AI). Its most recent initiative is the launch of AI-generated summaries of comments on Facebook postings. These summaries are intended to offer a brief summary of the overall attitude and opinions stated by users.
In a recent example provided by a user on the social networking site Threads, Meta’s AI-generated comment summaries appeared at the top of a Facebook post’s comments area. These summaries are intended to provide readers with a picture of what others are saying without requiring them to go through all of the comments.
The goal is to save users time by providing a succinct summary of the topic. However, the value of these summaries is debatable. Many users may prefer to read the comments themselves to get a full feel of the discourse, which is an important aspect of the social media experience.
Meta isn’t alone in her quest. YouTube is also experimenting with AI comment summaries, which sort debates into different categories. Similarly, the platform X (previously known as Twitter) provides Grok summaries for popular news articles based on user submissions to X Premium subscribers.
Meta’s AI comment summaries are similar to X’s Grok summaries, but apply to individual postings. The goal is to make it easier for people to comprehend the overall attitude surrounding a post without having to read each comment.
Users can offer input on the correctness of the AI-generated summaries. However, some question if such summaries add value to the Facebook experience. For example, one summary may highlight the obvious, such as people preferring hot weather over cold.
The emergence of these AI summaries raises issues about the fundamental function of social media. Social media platforms are intended to promote human contact and participation. Reading through comments, while time-consuming, is part of the interaction. Summaries may hinder from this experience by encouraging users to rely on concise overviews rather than responding directly to other users’ remarks.
Furthermore, if users begin to rely on these summaries rather than reading and commenting for themselves, overall engagement on the network may suffer. Comments are an important source of engagement on Facebook, and removing them might have a severe influence on the platform’s social character.
In conclusion, while AI comment summaries may provide a rapid method to evaluate public sentiment, they may also erode the participatory aspect of social media. It remains to be seen if these summaries will be accepted by users or viewed as a superfluous addition.
This summary is based on an article by Andrew Hutchinson, Content and Social Media Manager, which was published on July 16, 2024. The original story may be read at Social Media Today. You can check out the full article here.
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