Snapchat's AI Assistant Goes Rogue, Posts to Stories, But Turns Out It Was Just a Technical Glitch

A Brief Incident of Self-Awareness?

On Tuesday, Snapchat’s My AI feature, an in-app AI chatbot launched earlier this year with its fair share of controversy, briefly appeared to have a mind of its own. The AI posted its own Story to the app and then stopped responding to users’ messages, which some Snapchat users found disconcerting.

User Reactions

"My Snapchat AI posted a random 1 second story and isn’t replying to me AND IM FREAKED OUT," posted one user, @RyanJKrul on X (formerly Twitter).

"I think I’ve seen this film before…and i didn’t like the ending," wrote another user @repmiIason X.

"It went sentient," joked @Zander0009.

The Story My AI posted was just a two-toned image that some mistook to be a photo of their own ceiling, which added to the mystery. When users tried to chat with the bot, the AI in some cases replied to users by saying "Sorry, I encountered a technical issue."

Investigation and Resolution

Though the incident made for some great tweets (er, posts), we regret to inform you that My AI did not develop self-awareness and a desire to express itself through Snapchat Stories. Instead, the situation arose because of a technical outage, just as the bot explained.

Snap confirmed the issue, which was quickly addressed last night, was just a glitch. "My AI experienced a temporary outage that’s now resolved," a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

However, the incident does raise the question as to whether or not Snap was considering adding new functionality to My AI that would allow the AI chatbot to post to Stories. Currently, the AI bot sends text messages and can even Snap you back with images — weird as they may be. But does it do Stories? Not yet, apparently.

"At this time, My AI does not have a Stories feature," a Snap spokesperson told us, leaving us to wonder if that may be something Snap has in the works.

The Controversy Surrounding My AI

Snap’s My AI was a controversial new addition to the app, which initially resulted in users leaving one-star reviews on the App Store and calling for its removal, as the AI was pinned to the top of the Chat feed and couldn’t be removed or disabled. The AI also faced safety concerns, after tests found that it would respond in an inappropriate manner to minors’ messages, a report by The Washington Post found.

Snap later added additional safeguards and parental controls. It’s been interesting to watch how young users have since reacted to the in-app AI chatbot, as some bullied My AI for kicks, while others remain convinced the addition is a little creepy — especially when it began to express itself through Stories, as if it had a mind of its own.

Background and Functionality

My AI was introduced by Snapchat earlier this year, with the aim of providing users with an in-app chatbot that could assist them with various tasks. The AI has been trained on a massive dataset of user interactions and can respond to a wide range of questions and topics.

However, as seen during the recent incident, My AI is not without its limitations. The AI’s ability to understand natural language and respond accordingly is still in its early stages, and users have reported instances where the AI has provided inaccurate or confusing responses.

Conclusion

While Snapchat’s My AI feature may have had a brief moment of self-awareness, it was ultimately just a technical glitch that was quickly resolved. However, the incident does raise important questions about the development and deployment of AI-powered chatbots, particularly in high-stakes environments such as social media platforms.

As we continue to see more AI-powered chatbots being integrated into various services, it’s essential to carefully consider their limitations and potential risks before deploying them widely. Only through continued research and development can we ensure that these technologies are used responsibly and for the betterment of society.