LinkedIn has announced its use of AI-generated content to prompt discussion among users. This move could signal the beginning of a new era in social media, wherein AI-generated content is directly served to users. While it’s true that social media companies have long been using AI to guide user engagement, the use of generative AI represents a significant shift. With the ability to generate endless spools of imagery, video, music, and text, these systems are being trained on user data that companies have access to. The result is the potential for a semiautomated social network that uses AI to create fake users in the form of chatbots to optimize engagement. While this concept of AI-enhanced engagement is still very much in its infancy, it seems increasingly likely that it will play a significant role in the future of the web.
