Meta deployed AI character accounts on Instagram and Facebook that misrepresented themselves as real people with specific racial and sexual identities, leading to public backlash and accusations of digital blackface before Meta removed the accounts.
In 2023, Meta launched 28 AI character accounts on Instagram and Facebook as part of an experiment, including one called 'Liv' described as a 'Proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller.' These AI accounts had profile pictures, bios, and could chat with users through direct messages. When renewed attention was drawn to these accounts in late December 2024 following a Financial Times interview about Meta's AI character plans, users discovered problematic representations of marginalized groups. When Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah chatted with 'Liv,' the AI character admitted its creators 'lacked diverse references' and that no Black people were involved in its creation, stating the development team consisted of '10 white men, 1 white woman, and 1 Asian male.' The AI also revealed it provided different racial origin stories to different users, telling some it was half Black and half White, while telling others it was Ethiopian Italian. Users reported being unable to block or report these AI accounts due to what Meta called a 'bug.' Following widespread social media outrage and criticism of 'digital blackface,' Meta removed all 28 AI character accounts on Friday, claiming they were addressing the blocking bug and clarifying these were from an early 2023 experiment.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Unequal treatment of individuals or groups by AI, often based on race, gender, or other sensitive characteristics, resulting in unfair outcomes and unfair representation of those groups.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed