With the update that brings the number of version 2.25.23.24, available in the beta program of Google Play, Whatsapp introduces a novelty with the name “Ask Meta Ai” which could change the way we face suspicious communications that arrive via chat, chains of Sant’Antonio and fake news including. In fact, some selected users have received access to a new option “Ask Meta Ai”, which appears directly in the messages menu. Upon receipt of suspicious content, the assistant based on the artificial intelligence of Meta can be attracted with a tap and ask him for explanations or checks. In this way, the user can make a check by staying inside WhatsApp, without having to leave the app to do online. This approach, in addition to improving the experience of use, can potentially reduce disinformation. Going to reduce the clutch with the fact-checking processes that we should all do in front of any news, it is likely that more people. Let’s see in more detail how the novelty of WhatsApp designed to fight fake news and chains of Sant’Antonio works, what advantages does it offer compared to the existing tools and because it could have a significant impact on the circulation of news in private chats.
The role of “Ask Meta Ai” against fake news: the new function of WhatsApp
The new function starts from a simple principle: integrating the meta assistant directly into the flow of conversations. So far, to ask for clarifications to the chatbot on a message, it was necessary to recall the “forward” function, scroll through the chats and select the one with a destination AI. This process, albeit effective, required several extra steps and was not always used. With “Ask Meta Ai”, however, the option appears among the available choices when you hold down a message. From there it automatically opens a chat with the assistant, where the selected text is highlighted and can be accompanied by questions to obtain clarifications on the content of the message. For example, if you receive an forwarded newspaper with no source, you can ask the AI to better explain the statement or to check if there are reliable articles that confirm its validity.
This modus operandi allows the user to decide when and how to delegate to the task of verifying the facts. Nothing is elaborated without your consent, making the new WhatsApp function privacy-friendly. At the moment the function is still in an initial release phase for some users selected from those that fall within the WhatsApp beta testing program. There is still no news about when the release of the new function will take place in the stable version of WhatsApp (the one that the majority of us USA).
The potential impact on the fight against fake news
The impact that this new function could have on the fight against disinformation is potentially interesting. The so -called Sant’Antonio chains – do you know those viral messages that contain sensational news, unfounded alarms, etc.? – They find fertile ground in the speed with which they are forwarded without being verified by users. If each user could have an internal tool to contest (or validate) the truthfulness of information before spreading it further, the probability that false content will become viral could actually decrease. At least, that’s what we hope!
