Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has publicly addressed the key challenges facing the platform as he looks to a future where AI-generated content becomes commonplace. In a recent thread, he noted that it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between AI-generated images and real-world content.
Mosseri explained that social media platforms will be pressured to identify and flag AI-generated content. He predicted that while major platforms might initially be relatively capable of responding, their ability to mimic reality will gradually weaken as AI becomes more sophisticated. He argued that a more realistic approach is to fingerprint real content rather than to track fake content.
The solution he proposed is authentication at the camera manufacturing stage. He explained that by cryptographically signing images at the time of capture, they can be verified as original, allowing for verification of the content's distribution path. Mosseri emphasized the need to establish a system that clearly displays AI content while verifying its authenticity at the shooting stage.
These remarks stem from the realization that AI content is already filling social media feeds. Mosseri predicted a surge in synthetic images and videos by 2025, placing significant pressure on creators and photographers. However, he didn't view AI content itself negatively. He acknowledged that there is a lot of excellent AI content and argued that platform standards also need to change.
Mosseri predicted that in the future, trust will be based not on the perfection of an image, but on the human touch. He explained that overly refined aesthetics will lose their persuasiveness, and instead, rough and natural images will become a means of proving authenticity. He predicted that by 2026, Instagram will shift to a content environment that prioritizes realism over perfection.
