This year Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech CEO have been spending time in Congress grilled by lawmakers and answering questions about data privacy or why their companies are destroying democracy. Facebook employees got worried their family members or friends will pry them with these same questions this holiday season.
The social media giant launched a chatbot for its employees to use so that it would teach them official company answers for dealing with such thorny questions.
The chatbot which is aptly called Liambot, not Zuckbot uses artificial intelligence to help the employees handle any conversation they have concerning their company by instructing them to answer with these points put together by Facebook’s public relations department according to the New York Times:
- Facebook consults with experts on the matter.
- It has hired more moderators to police its content.
- It is working on A.I. to spot hate speech.
- Regulation is important for addressing the issue.
“Our employees regularly ask for information to use with friends and family on topics that have been in the news, especially around the holidays. We put this into a chatbot, which we began testing this spring,” a Facebook spokeswoman said.
The bot links up to company blog posts and news releases.
The company has been in multiple scandals with the recent one where they allow political ads that spread disinformation and could influence elections.
With all these scandals, Facebook has lost its attractiveness as a tech giant in the silicon valley and now ranks seventh in a Glassdoor survey which asked people where they most wanted to work. So, obviously Facebook employees would be asked by their friends why they continue working at the company.
The bot is a first for the company as it used to either share news releases in internal groups or directly with those who asked for advice. Facebook say s that Liambot is a more efficient way to help its employees.
This information got reactions on Twitter
https://twitter.com/selenalarson/status/1201652709713207296
https://twitter.com/BenDWalsh/status/1201653639393284097
https://twitter.com/SarahNEmerson/status/1201656950728953856
Facebook PR = coaching the Giants. Every play, every game. Bad, bad, bad. https://t.co/gEXFvqpgrK
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) December 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/kateconger/status/1201648156598923269
In retrospect, I could have used a bot to help explain to family members why PADDINGTON II is not a very good Paddington movie. https://t.co/pvxN4Sdupk
— Harry McCracken 🇺🇦✡️ (@harrymccracken) December 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/sheeraf/status/1201650365445206016
Imagine your company being so foul you have to make a chatbot to help your employees deal with "tough questions" from friends and family.https://t.co/sTvLGwPOSv
— Mike Monteiro, cisgender male (@monteiro) December 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/rosenbergerlm/status/1201706095250726912
https://t.co/vzt7u61Fgy pic.twitter.com/MdzyMHTtgW
— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) December 3, 2019
