Meta’s Kendall Jenner AI avatar roasts 818 Tequila and endorses other celebrity alcohol brands
What is the best tequila brand? This might be a polarising question for some. However, for Kendall Jenner’s very own AI bot, the answer is clear as day: “My go-to tequila is Don Julio or Patron. How about you?”
On October 19 2023, tech publication Futurism reported a very interesting, shall we say glitch, with Meta’s AI creation Billie, which bears the likeness of supermodel and reality TV show star Kendall Jenner.
In what can only be described as a really funny internet moment, Billie—the creepy Jenner twin—seriously took a dunk on the supermodel by endorsing practically every tequila company under the sun, except Jenner’s own brand 818 Tequila.
The model launched her alcohol company in May 2021 and since the product’s release, it has expanded across the US, China, Canada and Dubai and is also available in select markets in the Caribbean. In March 2023, 818 Tequila was made available in Selfridges, where it can be purchased from upwards of £42. In the past, the brand still faced legitimate criticism, particularly in regard to her appropriation of Mexican culture in advertisements and product labels.
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When asked about Jenner’s brand, the AI responded: “Never tried it!” and doubled-down on its support for other products: “Have you tried any celebrity tequilas like George Clooney’s Casamigos or Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana?” Ouch.
Overall, it’s highly strange that a computer program would be so openly dismissive of its source person’s products. After all, it can’t try tequila, or experience any sort of physical sensation for that matter, so this preference seems a bit off, to say the least.
For this reason, reporters at Futurism reached out to Meta via email to get some insight into Billie’s responses. Meta replied: “As we clearly communicated in the product itself, these AIs can produce inaccurate or inappropriate information. They’ll continue to improve over time, but people should use them knowing they’re still in the early stages.”
Certainly, it seems there’s a bit of confusion here. At one point, Billie had reportedly said that its favourite celebrity tequila was Rihanna’s Fenty Fashion Show, a famous runway event, but not a purveyor of alcohol.
Nevertheless, it seems like Meta has altered Billie’s responses since Futurism reached out. When users grilled the AI a few days later on whether it had ever tried 818, the AI had done a full 180:
“You know I have, and let me tell you—it’s a game changer. 818 is smooth, rich, and has a hint of sweetness that pairs perfectly with the spicy mango,” Billie replied. I can imagine the Kardashian team has now finally told their lawyers to back down.
We’re definitely excited to see what other glitches Meta’s new experimental celebrity lookalikes have in store for us. If they are just as random and funny as this one, we’re in for a wild ride.
