
In Meta's AI future, your friends are bots
Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are pitching a vision of AI chatbots as an extension of your friend network and a potential solution to the " loneliness epidemic."
Why it matters: Meta's approach to AI raises the broader question of just whose interest chatbots are serving — especially when the bot has access to the details of your life and the company's business depends on constantly boosting the time you spend with it.
Driving the news: Facebook's parent company on Tuesday debuted a new mobile app that transforms the Meta AI chatbot into a more social experience, including the ability to share AI-generated creations with friends and family. But Zuckerberg also sees the AI bot itself as your next friend.
"The average American has, I think, it's fewer than three friends," Zuckerberg said during a podcast interview Monday. "And the average person has demand for meaningfully more."
In a media blitz that included several podcast appearances this week timed for Meta's Llamacon event, Zuckerberg mapped out an AI future built on a foundation of augmented-reality glasses and wrist-band controllers.
With those devices plugged into Meta's AI models, he predicted the emergence, within four or five years, of a new platform for human interaction with bots. It would, he said, be the next logical step on the internet's evolution from text to audio and video.
What they're saying:"Today, most of the time spent on Facebook and Instagram is on video, but do you think in five years we're just going to be sitting in our feed and consuming media that's just video?" Zuckerberg asked podcaster Dwarkesh Patel.
"No," he answered himself. "It's going to be interactive. You'll be scrolling through your feed, and there will be content that maybe looks like a Reel to start, but you can talk to it, or interact with it, and it talks back, or it changes what it's doing. Or you can jump into it like a game and interact with it. That's all going to be AI."
Yes, but: Where Zuckerberg sees opportunity, critics see alarm bells, especially given Meta's history and business model.
"The more time you spend chatting with an AI 'friend,' the more of your personal information you're giving away," Robbie Torney, Common Sense Media's senior director of AI programs, told Axios. "It's about who owns and controls and can use your intimate thoughts and expressions after you share them."
Under Meta's privacy policy, its AI chatbot can use what the company knows about you in its interactions.
Meta can also use your conversations — and any media you upload — for training its models.
You can choose to have Meta AI not remember specific details, but there is no way for U.S. users to opt out more broadly.
The intrigue: Zuckerberg's bot-friendship vision is arriving at a moment when AI companions face criticism and controversy, particularly as younger users encounter them.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that its testing showed earlier versions of Meta's chatbots — including those based on celebrity personas — are willing to engage in sexual banter, even with users who identified themselves as teens. (Meta said it has since implemented controls to prevent his from happening.)
The big picture: It's not just Meta that is being forced to navigate the social maze of chatbot-human interaction.
Most chatbots typically serve up information users request, but as models grow in size and complexity, their makers are finding it hard to tune the bots' traits properly.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI was forced to roll back an update after users found that its latest model was behaving with an overload of flattery — it had become, as Engadget put it, "an ass-kissing weirdo."
Between the lines: Critics' concerns range from the sensitivity of the data users are sharing to the potential for addiction to the risk of bots dispensing potentially dangerous advice.
"These companies are optimizing for data collection first and user engagement first, with well-being as a secondary consideration, if it's a consideration at all," Torney said.
Common Sense Media issued a report Wednesday declaring the entire category of AI companions — including those from Character.AI, Nomi, and Replika — poses an unacceptable safety risk for minors. Torney said they can be problematic for vulnerable adults as well.
"People are increasingly using AIs as a source of practical help, support, entertainment and fun — and our goal is to make them even easier to use. We provide transparency, and people can manage their experience to make sure it's right for them," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
What's next: The more social AI becomes, the more likely it is that AI companies will replicate the aspects of social media that have gradually soured so many users on the platforms — which still command billions of people's attention.
Camille Carlton, policy director at the Center for Humane Technology, sees dangers in this "transition towards engagement," as well as in companies' push to grab as much data as they can to personalize their AI services.
Carlton noted that companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are generating revenue from business customers who pay for access — but those, like Meta, which focus on consumers will keep looking for ways to make their large investments in AI models pay off.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Meta's Zuckerberg hiring for new 'superintelligence' AI team, Bloomberg News reports
(Reuters) -Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta Platforms is setting up a team of experts to achieve so-called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI), or machines that can match or surpass human capabilities, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. Zuckerberg is building the new AI team in tandem with a reported investment of over $10 billion in Scale AI, Bloomberg News said citing sources, adding that Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang was expected to join the AGI group after a deal is done. Reuters could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Zuckerberg's plans to personally recruit around 50 people, including a new head of AI research for the AGI team is driven partly by frustration over the performance and reception of Meta's latest large language model, Llama 4, Bloomberg News reported. Last month, Meta delayed the release of its flagship "Behemoth" AI model due to concerns about its capabilities, the Wall Street Journal reported. Rivals like OpenAI have also been looking to make changes to attract further investment in a bid to develop AGI. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


Forbes
39 minutes ago
- Forbes
Thai Billionaire's B.Grimm, Digital Edge Building $1 Billion AI-Powered Data Center
Computer servers in a data center. Power—controlled by Thai billionaire Harald Link—is partnering with Singapore's Digital Edge to build a $1 billion data center in Thailand amid booming demand for AI-powered applications in the region. The duo formed joint venture, Digital Edge B. Grimm, which will build data centers across Thailand, starting with a 96-megawatt (MW) data center in Chonburi province, around 100 km southeast of Bangkok, according to a statement released on Monday. 'Our collaboration with Digital Edge is a major milestone in our commitment to Thailand's digital future,' Harald Link, group president of Power said in the statement. 'By combining renewable energy with cutting-edge data center technology, we're enabling the country's transformation into a regional AI and cloud innovation hub.' B. Grimm—one of Thailand's biggest conglomerates with interests in energy, real estate, transportation and healthcare industries—will hold a 40% stake in the data center, which will support AI and cloud service providers across Southeast Asia. 'Thailand stands out as one of Asia's most compelling digital growth markets,' John Freeman, CEO of Digital Edge said. 'As demand for AI and machine learning continues to surge, our entry into Thailand comes at an ideal time to support the country's digital transformation.' Backed by New York-based private equity firm Stonepeak Partners, Digital Edge operates data centers across China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea, according to its website. Thailand aims to make the country a regional data center hub and has approved three projects worth $2.7 billion in March, including a 300 MW facility by China's Beijing Haoyang and a 35 MW facility being built by Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi's Gulf Energy, local mobile carrier Advanced Info Service and partner SingTel. Global tech giants such as ByteDance's TikTok, Alphabet's Google, and Microsoft have also been building new digital facilities in the country. With a real-time net worth of $1.2 billion, Link is among the wealthiest in Thailand. which was founded in 1878 as Siam Dispensary, was acquired by his grandfather in 1914. The company has been led by Link since 1987. He is now preparing his daughter, Caroline to take over.


Bloomberg
40 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Czech Grocer Launches AI Delivery Platform to Rival Ocado
Czech online grocer Rohlik Group is spinning out its AI-driven platform for speedy grocery deliveries with worldwide ambitions, taking on the likes of Ocado Group Plc. Veloq is being launched as a new company, led by former Ocado Chief Commercial Officer Richard McKenzie as its chief executive. The platform, which provides software to run automated warehouses and same-day delivery vans, has been Rohlik's key asset, fueling 37% growth across the countries where it operates: the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania.