Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, unveiled new AI products and updates to its virtual reality (VR) technology. CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced bots that can generate photo-realistic images and smart glasses with an AI assistant that can livestream directly to Facebook and Instagram. The glasses will be priced at $299 and will start shipping on October 17. Additionally, the latest Quest mixed-reality headset, which includes features such as a chatbot called Meta AI, will start shipping on October 10. Zuckerberg emphasized that Meta’s products aim to integrate the virtual and real worlds while offering affordable or free AI solutions.
During the Meta Connect conference, Zuckerberg highlighted the company’s focus on innovation and affordability. He stated that Meta aims to make high-quality but expensive technology accessible to everyone. The AI assistant, Meta AI, will be integrated into the smart glasses and will be capable of identifying places and objects, as well as performing language translation. Meta used its custom model based on the Llama 2 large language model to develop Meta AI, with real-time information being provided through a partnership with Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
Meta also announced a platform that allows developers and individuals to create their own custom AI bots, which will have profiles on Instagram and Facebook and eventually appear as avatars in the metaverse. The company demonstrated the tool’s capabilities by creating a set of 28 chatbots with different personalities styled after celebrities. Overall, Meta’s announcements showcased its commitment to enhancing existing apps and devices, rather than focusing on monetization or new sources of revenue.
These developments reflect Zuckerberg’s strategy to navigate the growing interest in artificial intelligence and shift investor focus from augmented and virtual reality technologies. The event was crucial for investors who have criticized Meta for its spending on the metaverse, and stakeholders were eager to see if the company’s investments would pay off. Developers were also keen to assess the potential applications they can create for Meta’s latest hardware devices.