Social Media

AI versus authenticity on social media

AI is becoming an increasing presence on social media platforms — but where do we draw the line between AI-generated content and authentically human-made posts?

Adobe Express

10/09/2024

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Summary

Due to technological advances, we live in a world where we can use AI to job hunt for us, write essays and books, design our projects, give advice, and find out information on our behalf. And while AI has in many ways made our lives significantly easier, there does come a point where we need to question whether we’re becoming too dependent on AI to do the hard work for us. After all, just because something can be done with AI, doesn’t always mean it should.

You may have noticed over the last year or so how many of your favorite social media platforms have begun to introduce an increasing amount of AI-related features to help users create more content quickly. Though these social media platforms certainly have a vested interest in increasing the amount of content their users post, it’s also a little disconcerting to think that some people might be becoming too reliant on such tools to create a large amount of content on their behalf.

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AI and authenticity: the impact on influencers and businesses

Businesses present an excellent use case for AI features around content creation, especially when it comes to small business owners lacking in time, money, and resources who need to maintain a thriving social media presence while juggling other tasks. While AI can be used to help them level the playing field against larger companies, it’s important to still have a human behind the wheel to ensure that content is consistent, on-brand, and aligned with business goals and values.

When we consider the use of AI features around content creation and how they might be used by influencers, there’s a slightly different story to be told. Influencers and creators build their audiences by creating content around a niche or a few specific topics that attract a particular audience. But what really hooks their audience and turns them into a loyal following is their authenticity, their personality, and their innate humanity. As a result, things can get tricky for influencers who decide to bring AI into the mix. While it's perfectly acceptable to use AI like a personal assistant to help with project management and organization, when it comes to AI for content creation, a line may need to be drawn. Putting too much of your content into the web of AI, especially as an influencer, can feel false and inauthentic, even if the content produced by AI feels aligned with your personal brand. If your audience were to discover that a large percentage of your content was AI-generated, they might feel differently about you as an influencer, and their trust in your thoughtfulness as a creator could be significantly weakened. To put it bluntly, influencers who use AI to generate their content could lose their ability to have influence over time.

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Naturally, many of the top social media platforms have been delving into AI by releasing new functionality to assist users in achieving their goals on the platform. LinkedIn, for example, will always maintain an immense focus on helping job hunting users to secure their next role, and the use of AI in this arena has already been enormous. LinkedIn currently allows users to use AI to not only find the best roles for them, but for application feedback and cover letter assistance. These features are great for saving time and helping users get successfully hired into their next role, but it also can feel like you’re stepping into a morally grey area in relying on AI so much to sell yourself. How can you put your best foot forward when it’s not technically your foot?

Instagram is also a great example to examine in terms of its AI functionality, especially when we consider how it’s enabling creators to make AI bots of themselves to message with their audience on their behalf. While such a feature would surely be a big-time saver for creators/influencers who receive a lot of messages, it does raise a flag when it comes to a lack of authenticity and whether such features might become more extreme in the future.

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A slippery slope?

All in all, AI on social media has opened us up to some amazing features that enrich our social media experience. But it’s important to take a step back and examine whether these social media platforms have considered the bigger picture and where we might be headed in the future. Our favorite social media apps will always need to create features to fulfill user interests, which will undoubtedly come in the form of help around content creation and inspiration. Nonetheless, let us all remember that there is a difference between accepting help and handing over the task entirely. A balance should be struck before we all become a little too comfortable with relying on AI and lose sight of the beauty of authentic man-made content.

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