AI Making Decisions for Us: How Social Media Is Changing Under the Influence of Artificial Intelligence

Social media platforms were originally designed to connect like-minded individuals and encourage open communication. But under the growing influence of AI, these platforms are increasingly transforming into systems where privacy and freedom of choice are being subordinated to algorithmic logic.

AI is fundamentally altering how content is moderated and curated on the biggest social media platforms. Beyond automated moderation and fact-checking, AI algorithms now dictate what content users see, prioritizing engagement and platform interests over human connection.

Meta's launch of Meta AI—a chatbot integrated with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—was meant to enhance user interaction. However, its unexpected public sharing of private conversations triggered a backlash over privacy violations. What users thought were private queries to an AI assistant were often broadcasted in public feeds, revealing sensitive information like health conditions or personal confessions.

Meta has also begun testing proactive AI chatbots that initiate conversations with users to increase engagement. While this may reduce online loneliness, it raises questions about autonomy and digital overreach. What begins as a single message every two weeks could eventually become constant AI interference.

AI is also increasingly involved in content moderation. As of May, 90% of Meta’s risk assessments are done by AI, reducing human oversight. While AI can process massive data quickly, it lacks cultural understanding and the ability to grasp language nuance, which risks both over-censorship and under-detection of harmful content.

Fact-checking is also shifting. Platforms like X (formerly Twitter) are using AI to create "Community Notes," previously crowdsourced by volunteers. These AI-generated notes are cheaper and faster but risk bias, hallucination, and dependency on potentially flawed datasets. Over-reliance on such tools could dilute factual accuracy.

AI-generated content—such as fake images and synthetic influencers—is also spreading. Meta is experimenting with AI-generated profiles that mimic real users, further eroding authenticity and enabling misinformation at scale. In the EU, privacy regulators are increasingly concerned about how public data is being used to train these models.

Social media is becoming less about people and more about AI. Algorithms don’t just recommend content; they decide what is allowed to exist in your feed. Instead of platforms that foster genuine human interaction, we are getting sanitized, AI-curated realities. If the trend continues, social media may soon lose the very human essence it was built upon.