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Ever since its introduction, the Snapchat My AI chatbot has garnered mixed responses, thanks in part due to the company’s lack of safety precautions and its prominent placement in the Chat feed. Now, in a recent disturbing revelation, the AI chatbot started recording videos of many users’ surroundings, including walls and ceilings, and subsequently sharing these videos as live Stories with their entire audience.
As a result, many users turned to X to voice their concerns. For instance, @RyanJKrul expressed their worry by stating, “My Snapchat AI posted a random 1-second story and isn’t responding to me, AND I’M FREAKED OUT.” Meanwhile, @repmiIas wittily drew parallels with a movie plot, and @Zander0009 playfully speculated that the AI had gained sentience. Moreover, the fact that the chatbot even stopped responding to user queries further fueled user concerns.
Snapchat’s response
While far from sentient, Snapchat promptly tackled the situation by attributing the ‘My AI’ anomaly to a technical glitch that disrupted the chatbot’s regular operations. Additionally, the platform also explained that they had resolved the issue and clarified that the AI had not covertly captured snapshots of users’ surroundings.
Nonetheless, this incident once again underscores the company’s haste in integrating AI into its service. Additionally, the fact that Snapchat’s support page explicitly advises users not to entrust the AI with sensitive information or anticipate entirely precise responses underscores the challenges companies are facing in regulating these AI systems.
However, Snap is not alone in grappling with these challenges. Zoom, for example, recently faced widespread backlash for revising its privacy policy to permit the use of customer data for AI training, ultimately backtracking its decision due to the criticism. Additionally, even tech giants like Google encountered significant hurdles during the initial days, with some Googlers expressing disappointment at the premature release of the Bard AI chatbot.