Bluesky users have reacted negatively to the new AI service Attie, which allows users to create their own algorithms for social media and customize feeds within the AT Protocol ecosystem.
Attie debuted at the ATmosphere conference. Since then, around 141,000 users have blocked Attie's account on the platform, surpassing only the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance, who has over 180,000 blocks.
Top 5 blocked accounts on Bluesky. Source: Clearsky.
The AI service has even outpaced the White House account in blocks.
Attie has only 1,500 followers, meaning it has been blocked 94 times more than it has gained followers.
Bluesky has attracted a significant audience (currently 43 million registered accounts) as an alternative to platform X. For many, the platform has become a refuge from more mainstream social networks where AI is widely used.
The launch of the AI solution Attie may have felt like a betrayal to users. Bluesky is also criticized for not adding basic features like sending images through direct messages.
Source: Bluesky.
Former Bluesky CEO Jay Graber (now serving as Director of Innovation) and her team began working on Attie several months ago. She believes that major platforms today use AI to serve their own interests, aiming to increase user engagement, collect data, and control algorithms.
"We believe that AI should serve people, not platforms. The open protocol gives this power. You can create your feeds, build software as you wish, and highlight important information from the noise," Graber emphasized.
Recall that in February, Meta introduced the AI feature Dear Algo, which allows Threads users to personalize content recommendation algorithms.