Your conversations with Meta AI are public

The Meta AI application includes the “discover” thread. On this digital space, users can publish their trades with the chatbot for the world to see. This feature reflects Meta’s desire to integrate AI-generated content into its social networks.

A multitude of personal questions scroll through the “discover” thread, reports a Washington Post report: A man asks how to help his friend come out; an aunt seeks the right words to congratulate her graduating niece; another wants to know how to ask a girl “in Asian” if she’s attracted to older men…

Meta launched a standalone app for its chatbot almost two months ago, with the aim of providing personalized, conversational answers to all its users’ questions.

The flood of messages on philosophical and personal topics on MetaAI reflects a growing trend: more and more people are turning to chatbots to meet their emotional or relational needs, the Washington Post points out.

Yet privacy advocates warn that personal data entrusted to AIs could be used in unexpected ways. “Many people think there’s some kind of basic privacy. There isn’t. Anything you send to an AI system is at the very least accessible to the company hosting it,” explains Calli Schroeder, senior legal counsel at the ePrivacy Information Center.

The “discover” thread contains some of the most surprising conversations, resembling diary entries or Google searches. One man asks in audio how to grow rice indoors for his “Filipino wife”. Others ask the AI about the divinity of Jesus, feeding toddlers, or managing a budget while enjoying life. The thread is also filled with absurd images generated by the AI, such as Trump eating excrement or the Grim Reaper on a motorcycle.

Meta spokesman Daniel Roberts says that discussions with Meta AI are private by default, and that users must voluntarily click “share” or “publish” to have them appear on the “discover” thread. He adds that users even have the option of choosing a pseudonym on this thread. That said, the app’s “share” button doesn’t clearly indicate where conversations will be published, or who will be able to see them, a potential source of confusion for some users.