AI chatbot scares Snapchat users by posting mysterious video

Although Halloween is still in the future, certain Snapchat users are getting a spooky vibe reminiscent of the holiday. On a Tuesday evening, Snapchat’s My AI chatbot surprised users by sharing a cryptic one-second video featuring what appears to be a wall and a ceiling. This is noteworthy because the chatbot has never previously included videos in its messages. Intriguingly, when users inquired about the video, the AI chatbot remained eerily unresponsive, adding to the mysterious atmosphere.

“My AI” refers to a chatbot integrated within the Snapchat application, offering users the ability to engage with it as if it were an actual person. This chatbot operates on the foundation of OpenAI’s extensive language model technology, resembling the architecture of ChatGPT. It provides witty remarks and suggests various features of the Snapchat platform, embodying a persona reminiscent of a youthful and trendy individual interacting casually with its online friends.

In the latter part of yesterday, a significant number of individuals stumbled upon a brief video posted by My AI in the form of a “story” on Snapchat, which designates a shared photo or video. This occurrence took users by surprise since it was previously undisclosed that the bot possessed this capability. Given the chatbot’s simulated personality, it’s natural for users to speculate about intentional actions behind the video, although the more likely explanation is that it resulted from an unusual technical malfunction or glitch.

“I’m seriously spooked out – My Snapchat AI just shared a random 1-second story and isn’t responding to my messages,” expressed a user with the username “X.” This sentiment was widely echoed across social media on Tuesday night by numerous individuals who experienced a similar situation.

We contacted Snapchat to clarify the situation but have not yet received a response as of our press time. Nevertheless, a spokesperson from Snap informed Mashable that their My AI bot had encountered a service disruption. The reason behind this disruption leading to the posting of a cryptic image remains uncertain, and it’s possible that the company might be testing an image or video-generation feature.

It’s important to note that while the chatbot, being a product of OpenAI’s technology (you catch the reference, right?), possesses limited capabilities and doesn’t possess human-like thoughts or emotions, it can remarkably emulate human behavior. This raises ethical questions, especially when the AI occasionally generates inaccurate information. Nevertheless, Snapchat has introduced this feature to hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Given the AI-generated image’s resemblance to a wall and ceiling, some individuals began to speculate that My AI might be engaged in spying. “I honestly thought it was my own wall, especially considering how I’m positioned in my living room,” remarked one user with the username “X.” Another user commented, “It looks exactly like my wall, I was almost convinced I was seeing things.”

For those unfamiliar with how this technology operates, navigating an enigmatic anomaly in the AI can be perplexing. Interacting with a glitching AI often feels akin to interpreting signs—assuming that they have personal significance. However, as users discovered that the same image was distributed to everyone, a sense of relief emerged.

“I’m relieved that others received the same picture,” wrote one user with the username “X.” “It matches the wall and ceiling of the place I’m renting, and I was genuinely freaked out.”