Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, recently addressed the platform’s future beyond artificial intelligence, revealing ongoing developments and strategies aimed at enhancing user experience. During his Congressional testimony, Mosseri focused on the growing significance of elements like Reels and DMs (direct messages). He further charmed us by diving into the potential for a TV-focused app and how TikTok’s ownership shuffle is redefining the competition landscape.
Mosseri emphasized that Instagram’s renewed focus on Reels and DMs reflects current user trends, which aim to foster deeper engagement on the platform. This strategic pivot creates a larger picture for Instagram besides just being a photo-sharers app. It turns the platform into a learning lab for cutting edge content engagement.
“We’re seeing more users engage with short-form content and private messaging,” Mosseri stated. “These features are becoming core to how people connect on our platform.”
Mosseri went beyond Instagram’s core competencies and even addressed recent feedback provided by viral creator Mr. Beast. Better known as Jimmy Donaldson, his now-famous tweet opened up a discussion. Earlier this month, Mr. Beast came out strong in opposition to AI-generated videos. He thinks they have the potential to undermine creators’ livelihoods by reducing the value of original content.
Mosseri was very clearly against this notion. He contended that while AI technology can improve the production of content, it will never replicate the magic of what individual creators produce. “Most creators won’t use AI technology to reproduce what Mr. Beast has historically done,” he noted. Instead, he hopes AI will provide these creators the tools to create more engaging content and redefine what’s possible creatively.
Specifically, he addressed the increasing mix-up between what content is real and what’s AI-assisted, creating issues for both creators and audiences alike. “The line between what’s real and what’s AI-generated is becoming more ambiguous,” Mosseri stated. “Kids growing up today will need to learn that just because they see something in a video doesn’t mean it actually happened.”
Mosseri placed some useful context around how generative AI models might continue to reshape the public content landscape. “What some of these generative AI models look like they’re going to do is they’re going to reduce the cost of producing content to basically zero,” he explained. While this change can help democratize content creation, it has fueled worries about the spread of misinformation.
He stressed that the burden of correctly identifying AI content falls on platforms such as Meta. It is important for them to title it right. “Meta has some responsibility to identify what content is AI-generated,” he stated, acknowledging that the current labeling system requires improvement.
As competition intensifies, particularly with TikTok’s evolving ownership situation in the United States, Mosseri highlighted the need for Instagram to remain agile and innovative. Facilitating that deeper understanding of why content sometimes gets shared is critical for everyday users, who are traversing a much more complicated digital landscape.
“My kids are young. They’re nine, seven, and five,” Mosseri shared. “I need them to understand that just because they see a video of something doesn’t mean it actually happened.” Understanding the increasing importance of media literacy for younger audiences is key. It serves to reinforce the need for educating our youth in critical thinking skills, a necessity in today’s world pervasive with digital media.
He noted that such hybrid content has already developed on social media platforms, mixing organic and synthetic components. “It’s going to be a little bit less like what is organic content and what is AI synthetic content,” he explained. “I think there’s gonna be actually more in the middle than pure synthetic content for a while.”