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Nick Clegg Warns AI Is Making Social Media Less Social, Urges Tougher Oversight

He urges transparency on recommendation engines to curb automated feeds he says are eroding social interaction.

Overview

  • Giving evidence to the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, the former Meta executive called social media a "poisoned chalice" and said generative AI is turning apps "no longer social."
  • He condemned the "TikTokification" of platforms such as Instagram, describing users being bombarded with algorithmic short‑form videos and citing research linking passive consumption to poorer youth mental health.
  • Clegg urged regulators to be "way tougher" on requiring transparency from companies about rapidly changing algorithmic recommendation systems.
  • Ofcom has opened an investigation into reports that X’s Grok AI was used to create explicit deepfakes, including material that may amount to child sexual abuse content.
  • The UK government plans to bring into force a law criminalising the creation of non‑consensual sexual images as the commission continues hearings ahead of a report due later this year.