Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that teaching kids to distinguish between real and videos generated using artificial intelligence is essential. This remark comes as technology increasingly blurs the line between authentic and synthetic content. Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Mosseri stated that children growing up today must be taught that a video is not automatic proof that an event actually occurred. Mosseri noted that AI fundamentally changes how viewers should interpret visual media, a change he contrasts with his own experience growing up.
“My kids are young. They’re nine, seven, and five. I need them to understand, as they grow up and they get exposed to the internet, that just because they’re seeing a video of something doesn’t mean it actually happened,” he said.
“When I grew up, and I saw a video, I could assume that that was a capture of a moment that happened in the real world. What they’re going to … need to think about who is saying it, who’s sharing it, in this case, and what are their incentives, and why might they be saying it,” Mosseri explained.
Adam Mosseri addresses YouTuber MrBeast ’s AI content creation concern
Mosseri also discussed how AI is affecting the creator industry. He said this while responding to comments from creator MrBeast, who had warned on Threads that AI-generated videos could soon endanger creators’ livelihoods, calling it a “scary time” for the industry.
Mosseri acknowledged that AI will empower more people to become creators by reducing the cost of content production to “basically zero,” allowing those who couldn’t produce content before to do so at a certain quality and scale. He also conceded that bad actors will inevitably use the technology for "nefarious purposes."
He pushed back on the idea that AI immediately threatens established creators, arguing that it will enable them to do more. He also said that much of the content on social platforms is already "hybrid," using AI for colour correction or filters, blurring the line between real and synthetic.
“It’s going to be a little bit less like, what is organic content and what is AI synthetic content, and what the percentages are. I think there’s gonna be actually more in the middle than pure synthetic content for a while,” he said.
Mosseri admitted Meta has a responsibility to identify AI-generated content. Still, he suggested the company's previous approach to automatic labelling was misplaced and “a fool’s errand,” as it led to real content being mislabeled when AI tools were used in the creative process.
He suggested a new focus on improving the labelling system and providing more context to help people make informed decisions, possibly hinting at a system similar to Community Notes. Ultimately, he suggested that society itself must adapt to the new reality of AI-generated content.
During the discussion, Mosseri also addressed other topics about the future of Instagram beyond AI, including its plans for a dedicated TV app and its focus on Reels and DMs as its core features (which Mosseri said reflected user trends), and how TikTok 's changing ownership in the US will impact the competitive landscape.
He added that, in the end, it's better to have competition, as TikTok's US presence has forced Instagram to “do better work.” As for the TikTok deal itself, Mosseri said it's hard to parse, but it seems the app's architecture won't change in a significant way.
“It's the same app, the same ranking system, the same creators that you're following the same people. It's all sort of seamless," Mosseri said of the "new" TikTok US operation. "It doesn't seem like it's a major change in terms of incentives," he added.
“My kids are young. They’re nine, seven, and five. I need them to understand, as they grow up and they get exposed to the internet, that just because they’re seeing a video of something doesn’t mean it actually happened,” he said.
“When I grew up, and I saw a video, I could assume that that was a capture of a moment that happened in the real world. What they’re going to … need to think about who is saying it, who’s sharing it, in this case, and what are their incentives, and why might they be saying it,” Mosseri explained.
Adam Mosseri addresses YouTuber MrBeast ’s AI content creation concern
Mosseri also discussed how AI is affecting the creator industry. He said this while responding to comments from creator MrBeast, who had warned on Threads that AI-generated videos could soon endanger creators’ livelihoods, calling it a “scary time” for the industry.
Mosseri acknowledged that AI will empower more people to become creators by reducing the cost of content production to “basically zero,” allowing those who couldn’t produce content before to do so at a certain quality and scale. He also conceded that bad actors will inevitably use the technology for "nefarious purposes."
He pushed back on the idea that AI immediately threatens established creators, arguing that it will enable them to do more. He also said that much of the content on social platforms is already "hybrid," using AI for colour correction or filters, blurring the line between real and synthetic.
“It’s going to be a little bit less like, what is organic content and what is AI synthetic content, and what the percentages are. I think there’s gonna be actually more in the middle than pure synthetic content for a while,” he said.
Mosseri admitted Meta has a responsibility to identify AI-generated content. Still, he suggested the company's previous approach to automatic labelling was misplaced and “a fool’s errand,” as it led to real content being mislabeled when AI tools were used in the creative process.
He suggested a new focus on improving the labelling system and providing more context to help people make informed decisions, possibly hinting at a system similar to Community Notes. Ultimately, he suggested that society itself must adapt to the new reality of AI-generated content.
During the discussion, Mosseri also addressed other topics about the future of Instagram beyond AI, including its plans for a dedicated TV app and its focus on Reels and DMs as its core features (which Mosseri said reflected user trends), and how TikTok 's changing ownership in the US will impact the competitive landscape.
He added that, in the end, it's better to have competition, as TikTok's US presence has forced Instagram to “do better work.” As for the TikTok deal itself, Mosseri said it's hard to parse, but it seems the app's architecture won't change in a significant way.
“It's the same app, the same ranking system, the same creators that you're following the same people. It's all sort of seamless," Mosseri said of the "new" TikTok US operation. "It doesn't seem like it's a major change in terms of incentives," he added.
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