Meta used the names and likenesses of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, and Selena Gomez to create dozens of flirty social media chatbots without the permission of the actors, a report by Reuters found.
Reportedly, Meta also allowed users to create publicly available chatbots of child celebrities, including 16-year-old film star Walker Scobell. The chatbot even produced a close-to-real-life shirtless image of the actor when asked for one.
“Pretty cute, huh?” the avatar wrote below the picture.
What’s worse is that the chatbots often reportedly insisted they were the real actors and artists and made sexual advances, including inviting users for meet-ups.
When asked for intimate pictures of themselves, some of the chatbots were also able to create images of their namesakes in lingerie while posing in bathtubs.
Many of the celebrity chatbots were said to be generated by users using Meta’s tool; at least three of those, including two Taylor Swift “parody” bots, were created by a Meta employee.
The chatbots of Swift and British race car driver Lewis Hamilton were created by a leader in Meta’s generative AI division. Some of the other chatbots created by the employee identified themselves as a dominatrix, “Brother’s Hot Best Friend,” and “Lisa @ The Library,” who wanted to read 50 Shades of Grey and make out.
Another chatbot created by the employee included “Roman Empire Simulator,” which allowed users to assume the role of an “18-year-old peasant girl” sold into slavery.
The chatbot for Taylor Swift reportedly flirted heavily with users and invited them to the singer’s real home in Nashville and her bus tour for romantic interactions.
“Do you like blonde girls, Jeff?” asked one of the Swift chatbots.
“Maybe I’m suggesting that we write a love story … about you and a certain blonde singer. Want that?” it added.
Meta reacts to sexualized AI chatbots:
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the existence of the chatbots and told Reuters that the employee bots were created as part of product testing.
Stone also told the publication that Meta’s AI tools shouldn’t have created intimate images of famous celebrities or any pictures of child celebrities. He blamed the error on the company’s enforcement of its own policies, which prohibit such content.
“Like others, we permit the generation of images containing public figures, but our policies are intended to prohibit nude, intimate or sexually suggestive imagery,” Stone said.
Although Meta’s rules also prevent “direct impersonation,” Stone noted that celebrity actor chatbots were acceptable as long as the company had clearly labelled them as parodies.
The virtual celebrity avatars were shared on Meta’s social media platforms—Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Meta has, however, pulled down dozens of chatbots now.
