Artificial Intelligence | June 23, 2023
There is a lot of Facebook’s essence in Mark Zuckerberg’s plans with AI. The CEO of Meta revealed that they plan to develop a virtual assistant focused on improving your social life. “We will primarily focus on tools that help people connect,” he said in Led Frixman’s podcast, at a time when the company will take a slight break from its Metaverse idea to intensify its efforts in the AI race.
According to Zuckerberg, “most people probably don’t have as many friends as they would like.” He explained that they are considering an AI-powered “social assistant” that, for example, reminds you of your friends’ birthdays. Yes, similar to Facebook. “It will be able to update you on what’s happening in their lives and how you can effectively communicate with them.” The goal is to help you “be a better friend.”
Zuckerberg mentioned in the interview with Frixman that language is an “imperfect way” for people to express their ideas. He gave examples of moments when his five-year-old daughter cries because she can’t communicate her feelings. He believes adults experience the same thing, which is why these “social assistants” will be relevant.
Zuckerberg envisions Meta’s AI as “a mentor, a life coach, a cheerleader who can help you overcome all life’s challenges.” He clarified that, unlike OpenAI’s GPT systems, they expect to implement a diverse range of models that can be tailored to different needs and businesses.
Content creators will also have their specialized AI assistant, emphasized Zuckerberg. The proposal is for these chatbots to help them better “negotiate” collaborations with brands. He mentioned a system capable of “bottling personality.” “We have heard from many people who are interested in it,” he added.
Brands will also have AI capabilities. “In the future, if you advertise on our services, will you need a creative agency? No,” said the CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The company already launched AI Sandbox in May, a “testing ground” for the initial versions of AI-powered advertising tools.
Currently, the tests are focused on text composition, background generation, and image overlay, as published on the Meta blog. “We will create the ad block that performs the best. Give a goal to the AI system, and it will connect you with the right people,” Zuckerberg revealed.
This year, the Menlo Park company has already introduced LLaMa, their large language model, and SAM, an AI capable of recognizing elements and meanings within an image. These releases have been focused on the research community rather than the general users, unlike the announcements made by Microsoft and Google.
