Meta Announces New AI Products at Conference

Facts

• Meta this week introduced several new AI products for consumers, including smart glasses capable of answering questions and streaming on Facebook, bots that can create photo-realistic images, and a new virtual-reality headset.¹
• At the company’s Connect developer conference Wednesday in Menlo Park, Calif., CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivered a message that Meta’s trying to build “the future of human connection” to an audience of developers, employees, and journalists.¹
• Meta AI was one of the more significant products unveiled by Zuckerberg. It was created using a custom model based on the large language model Llama 2, which the company released commercially in July.²
• Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said the company used public Facebook and Instagram posts in training the virtual assistant but didn't use private posts to friends and family, or private chats on its messaging services, out of concern for user privacy.²
• Zuckerberg shared details of the Quest 3 headset, which he teased in June. It will be able to blend augmented reality elements into a user’s physical surroundings, and it will gain support for Xbox Cloud Gaming by the end of the year.³
• Meta also has a new foundational model for image generation called Emu, which will allow users to create AI stickers usable across messaging on Meta’s apps.⁴

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Reuters, ³Engadget and ⁴TechCrunch.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Cointelegraph. Unlike other companies’ versions of AI, Meta is creating a product that can be altered and sculpted to each individual user’s needs. Meta’s chatbot will be as conversational and entertaining as it will be useful. Undoubtedly, Meta will be the destination for anyone looking to improve their social media or internet experience through AI.
• Narrative B, as provided by The register. Hasn’t Zuckerberg made enough money? Apparently not, because he seems intent on infiltrating every area of users’ lives, even if it means producing headsets that get ridiculed when people use them. These products might be attractive to those naïve enough to get involved with Facebook's unsavory practices, but they’re not likely to improve anything except Meta’s bottom line.