Snapchat's AI bot just confirmed people's worst fears about artificial intelligence

Despite decades of warnings about how our messing with technology too deeply could lead to our demise as a species, AI is very much the current big thing -- and it keeps getting bigger.

In the meantime, the technology is having its own hiccups. Back in April, social-media app Snapchat  (SNAP) - Get Free Report debuted its own product called My AI, which uses OpenAI's GPT technology. It's a virtual companion that users decorate with its own avatar and chat with at anytime.

DON'T MISS: Why Sam Altman's own AI tech is making him nervous

On the evening of Aug. 15, Snapchat users panicked when the My AI chatbot stopped responding to messages and posted a one-second story, which appears to be a shot of a room where the wall meets the ceiling. The story has since been deleted.

The 1-second story posted by the Snapchat AI chatbot: pic.twitter.com/PLuanlkQiw— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 16, 2023

By the morning of Aug. 16, Snapchat was trending on X with more than 127,000 mentions.

While the story itself seems rather benign, people were very freaked out.

Some tried asking the bot what happened after it started to reply to queries again, resulting in a response that stated "it was just a fun way to mix things up."

Snapchat AI?!

Apology accepted pic.twitter.com/Vcq33WOi0s— Mohamed (@MessiSituation) August 16, 2023

Users of channels from X (formerly Twitter) to YouTube have previously posted about My AI being "creepy," but it hasn't stopped them from using the AI service. Snap announced in June 2023 that over 150 million people were using My AI.

TheStreet has reached out to Snapchat for comment.

Get exclusive access to portfolio managers and their proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.