Instagram’s Adam Mosseri addresses AI fears, says society must adapt
▼ Summary
– AI will democratize creativity by enabling more people to produce quality content at scale, but it will also be used for nefarious purposes, requiring education on media literacy.
– Mosseri disagreed with MrBeast’s concern that AI threatens creators’ livelihoods, arguing it will enhance content creation rather than replicate elaborate productions.
– Generative AI is expected to reduce the cost of content production to nearly zero, similar to how the internet eliminated distribution costs.
– The distinction between organic and AI-generated content will blur as creators increasingly use AI tools in hybrid workflows for tasks like color correction.
– Meta is improving AI content labeling and considering community-based fact-checking, while emphasizing societal adaptation to verify digital content authenticity.
Instagram’s leader, Adam Mosseri, recently discussed how artificial intelligence is reshaping the creative landscape, emphasizing that AI tools are dramatically lowering barriers to content creation. He believes these technologies will empower individuals who previously lacked the resources to produce high-quality work, effectively expanding the pool of potential creators. At the same time, Mosseri acknowledged the risks, pointing out that malicious users could exploit AI for harmful activities. He stressed the importance of teaching younger generations critical thinking, noting that children must learn not to automatically trust everything they see in videos online.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Mosseri responded to concerns raised by popular creator MrBeast, who warned that AI-generated videos might threaten creators’ incomes. While recognizing those fears, Mosseri offered a different perspective. He suggested that most creators won’t use AI to replicate the kind of large-scale, high-budget productions MrBeast is known for. Instead, he sees AI as a tool that enables creators to enhance their work and increase their output.
Mosseri drew a parallel between the internet’s impact on content distribution and AI’s effect on content production. “The internet made it possible for almost anyone to become a publisher by reducing distribution costs to nearly zero,” he explained. “Now, generative AI models look set to do the same for content creation, bringing production costs down to almost nothing as well.” Of course, this statement overlooks the significant financial, environmental, and human resources required to develop and run AI systems.
He also observed that many creators are already blending AI into their workflows, creating what he calls “hybrid” content. This might involve using AI for tasks like color grading or applying filters, rather than generating entire videos from scratch. Mosseri predicted that the distinction between organic and AI-generated material will continue to fade. “We’re going to see more content that sits somewhere in the middle, not purely human-made, but not fully synthetic either,” he said.
When it comes to labeling AI content, Mosseri admitted that Meta has a role to play, but he described the company’s initial attempts at automatic labeling as misguided and practically “a fool’s errand.” These efforts sometimes mistakenly flagged authentic content as AI-generated simply because creators used AI-assisted editing tools from companies like Adobe. Moving forward, he indicated that Meta needs to refine its approach, potentially by offering viewers more context to help them evaluate what they’re seeing.
One possibility is expanding the use of Community Notes, a crowdsourced fact-checking system Meta recently launched in the United States. Modeled after a similar feature on X, this system allows users to append corrections or additional context to posts, particularly when people with differing viewpoints agree that more information is needed. Such a mechanism could eventually help identify AI-generated content that hasn’t been properly disclosed.
Beyond platform-level solutions, Mosseri argued that society as a whole must adapt. He shared a personal example, explaining that he wants his own young children to understand that videos don’t always depict real events. “When I was growing up, if I saw something on video, I could generally assume it captured a real moment,” he said. “My kids will need to consider who created a piece of content, why they shared it, and what their motivations might be.”
The conversation also covered Instagram’s future direction beyond AI. Mosseri mentioned plans for a dedicated TV app and highlighted Reels and direct messaging as core features, noting that this shift simply reflects how users are already engaging with the platform. On the topic of competition, he commented on the potential changes to TikTok’s ownership in the U.S., stating that competition ultimately pushes Instagram to improve. He downplayed the immediate impact of any ownership transition, suggesting that TikTok’s fundamental app experience, ranking algorithms, and creator community are likely to remain consistent.
(Source: TechCrunch)
