Snapchat users claim they were horrified and concerned after its artificial intelligence system, “My AI,” posted a mysterious image.
Snapchat introduced its chatbot, My AI, earlier this year. The feature is pinned to the top of the user's chat feed, just a click away, so users can talk to it at any moment. It will not speak to you unless requested, which means it can be fully ignored without affecting your experience. But then something strange happened on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. Snapchat's My AI feature posted its first Snapchat Story and also began acting suspiciously.
Snapchat users witnessed “My AI” post its own story for the very first time. It seemed like a video of a wall or ceiling. Users began criticising this unusual activity by Snapchat's My AI. Simultaneously, various users began receiving generic responses, with the AI responding that it "doesn't understand" or that it had "experienced a technical issue." The Snapchat Story was deleted after nearly an hour of confusion.
Snapchat users from the United States and across the world rushed to other social media sites to voice their anxiety. Some argued that the AI had grown, gaining sentience and learning how to post its own story. As of now, Snapchat officials have made no direct comments on the incident. The Snapchat Support account on X (formerly Twitter) hasn't addressed the issue directly but has directed users to leave comments in DMs.
Some X (formerly Twitter) users even reported that they were feeling worried because they thought that the image depicted their own wall. But the picture seems to be the same for all Snapchat users. After the picture was posted, it was quickly taken down. Then, Snapchat's My AI feature stopped working, and people who tried to talk to it got error messages saying that it was having a "technical issue."
My AI was restored later, with the story taken down. Users started asking the system what had happened, and it responded by saying that the message was a "fun way to mix things up" and apologising if it had "caused any concern."
A spokesperson from Snapchat confirmed the technical difficulties in a statement. "My AI” experienced a temporary outage that has now been resolved. However, it did not address the strange image that had been posted when the outage occurred.