A generation ago, tobacco company executives stood in Congress and swore that cigarettes were not addictive. Their testimony was clearly false, and their sworn photos became infamous.
Today, we must confront a force as pernicious as the tobacco industry in the 20th century: a social media ecosystem that is as toxic as it is addictive and dangerous, and where young people are the most vulnerable. If social media doesn't change its ways, it will soon become the big cigarette of today.
As five technology company CEOs prepare to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, it's hard to deny that the similarities are striking.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, just as Surgeon General C. Everett Koop sounded the alarm about the dangers of smoking in the 1980s, said social media is impacting the mental health of teens. They are sounding the alarm about the impact. Marcy said young people tell him three things about social media: It makes things worse about their friendship. And they can't get out of it. ”
We all remember the founding purpose of social media. This is a great time for us to reunite with old friends, share family updates, and find like-minded people in hopes of creating a more curious, connected, and caring world. It was helpful. At the same time, social media is making us more distracted, depressed, and divided. They often focus on our differences and perceived shortcomings to maximize viewing time.
Artificial intelligence is what companies are leveraging to maximize viewing time. AI quickly and accurately determined that our brains are wired to linger on social media posts that trigger the darker side of human nature: emotions like fear, anger, desire, and envy. .
I've seen this happen on Pinterest. I joined his Pinterest a year and a half ago because I was drawn to the work Pinterest was doing to deliberately avoid the harmful elements of social media. I was keen to put mental wellbeing even more central to the company's purpose.
But as soon as I started, I realized that with Pinterest's recent pivot to short-form videos and AI-driven feed optimization, much of the same triggering content as the rest of the industry was starting to surface.
In response, we decided to give AI a new goal. It's about optimizing for inspirational content and positivity, and incorporating more intentional choices by giving users more control over what they see. After retraining the AI, content recommendations became more positive and action-oriented. Step-by-step guides, self-care ideas, and inspirational quotes rose to the top.
Unfortunately, a few months later, some solid investigative reporting revealed that adult men were following young girls on Pinterest and compiling innocuous content into sex-themed message boards. Even worse, our algorithm recommended more of this content to them.
While we have been actively working to improve our youth safety features, this episode shocked us and how much effort is being put in place across the industry to guide AI to the right outcomes, especially on social media. demonstrated that it is necessary.
Unlike the tobacco industry decades ago, we actually need to take responsibility. Otherwise, the damage will be severe. It's time for industry leaders to accept responsibility and build their online platforms around positive well-being outcomes.
Big Tech doesn't need to become the next Big Tobacco. We have an opportunity to disrupt the current business model before we lose more young people to negativity and self-loathing.
But how can we do this?
Let's start by flipping the script. Putting her AI at the center of improving the online safety and well-being of youth. Unlike nicotine in cigarettes, there are positive uses for AI in social media.
First, social media platforms need to leverage AI to weed out much more problematic content than they currently do. AI needs to be trained to be additive rather than addictive, giving users more control over what they see.
Second, platforms can leverage AI to bring better product design. For example, Pinterest uses body type and skin tone range technology to shape its algorithms to increase representation across relevant feeds and search results. There are also no image-altering effects or filters that enforce unrealistic beauty standards.
Third, platforms can add extra protections for teens. We've made messages more restrictive for teens and added resources for people who are feeling anxious, stressed, or sad. And we have taken the lead in making her under-16 teen accounts private.
Fourth, we can work together by being transparent and sharing what we have learned about how to address these issues. We were the first to sign the Inspired Internet Pledge, a call to action for technology companies and advertisers to come together to make the internet a safer and healthier place for everyone, especially young people.
It is possible to have a successful social media business model that focuses on positivity. We know that because we're here building it and seeing the results. Last reported revenue, Pinterest revenue increased by 11%, user engagement is higher than ever, and from 2022 to 2023, his Gen Z users are up 20% year-over-year Did.
We're not perfect and we don't have all the answers. Like other industries, we still have a long way to go. But it's my intention to make Pinterest a safe place for everyone, especially young people.
As leaders, we must ask ourselves: Are we more angry about negative press coverage, being called to testify before Congress, or the fact that young people are being harmed? If the answer is the latter, we must take responsibility and come together to raise safety standards.
Bill Ready is the CEO of Pinterest.
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