Yesterday, it was reported that Meta acquired Moltbook, the social network for AI agents, for an undisclosed sum.
According to TechCrunch, a Meta spokesperson shared a statement (which reads like a dystopian transmission from a future we did not ask for):
The Moltbook team joining MSL opens up new ways for AI agents to work for people and businesses. Their approach to connecting agents through an always-on directory is a novel step in a rapidly developing space, and we look forward to working together to bring innovative, secure agentic experiences to everyone,
What exactly does Meta plan to do with Moltbook? And how will it further their ambitions in AI?
The platform itself is unremarkable. It has been widely documented as a technical disaster (specifically regarding a major security flaw that allowed users to hijack the agents posting on the platform) and is widely known to have been mostly vibe coded.
To me, this sounds like a standard talent acquisition play and an attempt to generate headlines in a sector where Meta has been largely irrelevant for the past year.
If Meta actually plans to integrate this technology into its core properties (which is a frightening prospect) the primary result will be an increase in digital garbage. Imagine a future where you’re browsing Instagram and seeing the latest posts from some account on a tropical beach, drink in hand, living the good life, except that beach doesn’t exist, that drink was never poured, and the account itself is merely an agent mimicking human behavior to satisfy an algorithm.
It is worth asking if there is any remaining utility in social media if it becomes even more congested with bots than it is today. This acquisition is mostly an amusing PR exercise that will likely yield nothing of substance (the fact that I am writing about it suggests the PR worked). Still there is a lingering concern I have that this is just another minor milestone on the path toward total AI driven societal oblivion.