Facebook Live videos, on the other hand, often show sensitive breaking content like the aforementioned hospital shooting.įew would consider banal phrases or emojis as appropriate responses to tragedies like this, as they remove the human element that’s supposed to define Facebook. Many have been quick to compare the auto-comment feature to Gmail’s smart reply function, however, on Gmail you’re likely just confirming your attendance to meetings or thanking people for forwarding you information. While machine learning could be used to great effect in Facebook comments for certain things, such as responding to unsolicited messages or working out optimal headings when posting links, only using technology like this to comment emojis on Facebook Live videos could be seen as a missed opportunity. READ NEXT: Facebook’s shareholders are trying desperately to oust Mark Zuckerberg Clearly the machine learning is in its infancy. For example on a shopping channel the comments suggested compliments such as “pretty” or “cute”, although live news channels often had suggested comments that seemed incorrect.

The auto-comments use machine learning to recognise the type of video, and therefore suggest appropriate responses. Other types of videos that have the auto-comment function include gaming streams and online marketing channels, however, the suggested responses are different on these streams.

The feature has also been reported on other videos although, like many of Facebook’s other new features, it’s not yet available in the UK.

Facebook marketplace auto comments