Meta‘s latest AI-generated characters look awfully familiar.
The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has partnered with a group of celebrities and influencers to launch 28 new AI chatbots. Those characters include “Zach,” who looks and sounds just like MrBeast, and “Coco,” a “dance enthusiast” who is a dead ringer for Charli D’Amelio.
The celeb-lookalike chatbots were developed using the second generation of Llama, Meta’s large language model. The participating celebs allowed Meta to record their voices and film their movements. That data was then used to build the AI characters, who will chat with users on Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
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Some of the stars who participated in Meta’s Llama 2 experiment — such as Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton — are traditional celebs who have embraced emerging technologies. In order cases, Meta teamed up with YouTube and TikTok creators like MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson), D’Amelio, and Lauren Riihimaki, the lifestteyle guru known online as LaurDIY.
Meta’s celeb guests are arriving in the midst of an entertainment industry debate about the role of generative AI. Recent lawsuits have argued that AI-derived versions of creative works are examples of copyright infringement. In this case, Meta received the support of its high-profile partners, though its representatives declined to share the compensation the celebs received.
The characters are inspired by famous figures, but they’re not necessarily the same as their real-world counterparts. Meta’s description of Zach (“The big brother who will roast you — because he cares”) does sound a lot like MrBeast, but Snoop Dogg’s AI avatar is a “Dungeon Master,” not a musician.
“You can think of these AIs as a new cast of characters – all with unique backstories,” reads a Meta blog post introducing the AIs. “They’ll each have profiles on Instagram and Facebook, so you can explore what they’re all about.”
Meta plans to roll out additional celeb-inspired chatbots over the coming weeks and months. Partners for the upcoming characters include Olympian Chloe Kim and creator Josh Richards. If you’d like to tinker with Llama 2 yourself, you can download the open-source language model via Meta’s website.
