Intrusive, uncomfortable, impossible to deactivate… In recent days criticism has multiplied against “My AI”, a conversational artificial intelligence based on ChatGPT, which suddenly appeared in the Snapchat application of millions of users.
A week ago, the company announced that the chatbot was being deployed globally. The feature is not yet available in France, but it is already drawing a wave of criticism in the United States.
Since the “My AI” integration with Snapchat was announced, the app’s score on the US App Store has been 1.67 with 75% 1-star ratings, according to data from consulting firm Sensor Tower shared by the TechCrunch site. For comparison, in Q1 2023, this same rating was 3.05, with only 35% 1-star reviews.
The number of ratings remaining daily has also increased fivefold over the past week, the same source notes, with many comments expressly citing “My AI.”
Impossible to unpin
It is above all the absence of an option to deactivate this chatbot that seems to be a problem for users, while it must appear in front of their friends’ conversations, in the application’s messaging system. His 3D avatar is customizable, but he appears by default as a character with purple skin and blue hair. Only subscribers to the Snapchat+ plan (4 euros per month) can deactivate the bot, explains Snapchat.
Follow up and influence?
Some are concerned that the AI will have access to their location, even though their location option is turned off in Snapmap. In several conversations shared on Twitter, the AI denies having this position information… but then indicates without blinking an eye where the nearest stores are, for example. This feature mainly highlights the personal data that social networks already have about their users.
While “My AI” was only available to Snapchat+ subscribers, the Washington Post He also reported that the chatbot provided advice to underage users on how to mask the smell of alcohol and cannabis or how to create the necessary atmosphere before engaging in a first sexual relationship.
Asked by TechCrunch, Snapchat responded to take feedback from its community into account, without promising to withdraw the chatbot. The company insists on the excitement around “My AI” when more than two million messages were exchanged during the first tests. The company explains that if users don’t like this AI feature, they simply don’t want to use it.
Source: BFM TV
