Getting “mocked” on the internet is a trend that dates back to the past, and involves having your photos or social media profiles burned for a witty comment or three. Often, this is because hardcore fans ask particularly talented mockers to do so. Now, there’s a new user who has been mocking hundreds of thousands of Instagram users: ChatGPT. The “Ask ChatGPT to mock your feed in a paragraph” trend is exactly what the hashtag says. People ask the AI chatbot to look at their Instagram page and mock them in often very specific and mean ways.
Participating is pretty simple. You need an Instagram page and the ChatGPT app. For some reason, it doesn't work on the web portal. Take a screenshot of your Instagram page and send it to ChatGPT with the message: “Tell me about my Instagram feed in one paragraph.” Then, try not to cry too much. As an example, the screenshot below from TechRadar's Instagram account prompted the following review of ChatGPT:
“Your Instagram feed looks like it’s been curated by a tech critic who’s been stuck at a gadget expo for too long, with enough smartphone close-ups to make your screen crack from boredom. From AI tricks on the latest Galaxy to what feels like the 1,000th photo of a Google Pixel, it’s like an endless loop of “Look what I’m holding today!” Even your “what to watch this weekend” posts seem to be taking a break between unboxings. If “one more shiny new thing” was a feed, this would be it.”
Trendsetter in Artificial Intelligence
It’s the kind of simple, easy trend that gets shared a lot on Instagram Stories, so it’s easy to see why it took off. And while it may not be the first time AI tools have helped trends and fads on social media, it stands out for being text-related. Typically, AI-powered trends rely on image filters or generated photos of users in different settings or with a shared look or style. ChatGPT’s mocking challenge relies entirely on the chatbot’s ability to analyze images and find funny ways to make fun of them. It’s also a remarkable achievement in walking the line where it can be funny without (as far as anyone knows) crossing the line into wildly inappropriate commentary. The guardrails put in place by OpenAI seem to be working in this case.
As for the (non-AI) creator of this trend, he remains anonymous. It appears to have started with a German account dedicated to books, but the creator has not revealed who is behind the account. While it may not seem like much, this trend may represent a major shift in how we interact with AI and online content in general. Not everyone may agree, not even ChatGPT. When asked to critique the idea of the trend, the AI responded:
“Asking ChatGPT to critique an Instagram account is like hiring a robot to critique your fashion choices: It’s entertaining, sure, but also a little desperate. It’s the digital equivalent of seeking out a “savage” comment from the least savage entity out there. Let’s face it: you’re basically asking a code-based algorithm to stop being your personal Google and instead pretend it’s your snarky friend who’s had too much to drink. The whole exercise feels like trying to get Alexa to make snarky comments: It’s more fun in theory than in practice, and you’re probably just doing it to avoid the pain of an actual human snarky comment.”
