Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms, introduced an array of new artificial intelligence (AI) products during the Meta Connect conference, showcasing the company’s vision of integrating virtual and real worlds. These offerings aim to provide low-cost or free AI solutions that seamlessly integrate into daily routines.
Key Announcements:
1. Enhanced Smart Glasses:
Meta’s new generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses, starting shipping on October 17, is priced at $299. These glasses feature a Meta AI assistant and enable users to livestream their experiences directly to Facebook and Instagram, offering an improved experience compared to the previous generation.
2. Next-Gen Quest Mixed-Reality Headset:
The latest Quest mixed-reality headset will be available for shipping on October 10. This advanced headset introduces Meta’s first consumer-facing generative AI products, including a chatbot called Meta AI. This AI can generate both text responses and photo-realistic images.
3. Meta AI Integration:
Meta AI will serve as an assistant integrated into the smart glasses, with a beta rollout planned for the United States. A future software update will empower the assistant to identify objects and locations and perform language translation. Meta developed the Meta AI chatbot using the powerful Llama 2 large language model and will provide real-time information through a partnership with Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
4. Custom AI Bots:
Meta is working on a platform that allows developers and individuals to create custom AI bots. These bots will have profiles on Instagram and Facebook and eventually appear as avatars in the metaverse. To showcase the platform’s capabilities, Meta created 28 chatbots with personalities styled after celebrities like Charli D’Amelio, Snoop Dogg, and Tom Brady.
These product announcements primarily focus on enhancing existing applications and devices rather than introducing new revenue streams. The company appears more interested in building a platform for developers to leverage AI capabilities.
Upcoming Features:
Mark Zuckerberg also revealed that Xbox cloud gaming would be available on Quest in December.
These developments underscore Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy to leverage AI technologies as investor interest shifts from augmented and virtual reality to AI. With investors closely monitoring Meta’s moves, the company aims to demonstrate that its investments in the metaverse and AI can pay off in the long run, despite the challenges faced in recent years.
