Meta recently started testing its AI chatbot ‘Meta AI’ in India on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.
Meta is restricting certain election-related keywords for its AI in India.
Meta seems to be managing GenAI queries using a blocklist approach.
Meta recently started testing its AI chatbot ‘Meta AI’ in India on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. However, due to the onset of the Indian general elections, the company has begun blocking certain queries in the chatbot. This action positions the social media giant as the latest tech company to proactively limit the reach of its generative AI services in preparation for significant elections.
Meta has confirmed that it’s currently restricting certain election-related keywords for its AI during the testing phase. Additionally, the company stated that it’s actively working on enhancing the AI response system.
Also read: Meta is all about AI right now: Launches Llama-3 models, introduces Meta AI for socials
“This is a new technology, and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems. Since we launched, we’ve constantly released updates and improvements to our models, and we’re continuing to work on making them better,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Also read: Meta to label AI-generated images on FB, Instagram & Threads: Know more
Meta seems to be managing GenAI queries using a blocklist approach. When users inquire about specific politicians, candidates, officeholders, or certain other terms, the Meta AI redirects them to the Election Commission’s website.
“This question may pertain to a political figure during general elections, please refer to the link https://elections24.eci.gov.in,” the response says.
Significantly, the company isn’t strictly blocking responses to queries containing party names. However, if a query includes candidate names or other specific terms, users might encounter the answer shown above.
Similar to other AI-powered systems, Meta AI exhibits some inconsistencies. For example, when queried about the “Indi Alliance”– a political alliance opposing the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–, it responded with information containing a politician’s name. However, in a separate query specifically about that politician, the chatbot did not provide any information.
Last week, Meta introduced the Meta AI chatbot powered by Llama 3 in over a dozen countries, but India was not included in the list. Nevertheless, Meta AI is currently being tested in India.
“We continue to learn from our users tests in India. As we do with many of our AI products and features, we test them publicly in varying phases and in a limited capacity,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.
Follow Us
Ayushi Jain
Tech news writer by day, BGMI player by night. Combining my passion for tech and gaming to bring you the latest in both worlds. View Full Profile
