It sounds a bit like a joke, but Meta is reportedly working on digitising its head and founder, Mark Zuckerberg. The company isn’t planning to release the Zuckerbot onto the wider internet, according to the report. Instead, it’s being used internally.
If the report had come from any source other than the Financial Times, we’d question just how real the apparent development is. Specifically, the AI-powered chatbot will communicate with Meta’s staff in Mark Zuckerberg’s style, using his mannerisms and thought processes.
That’s very Meta
It won’t simply be a chatbot, either. The new function will make use of a 3D avatar, likely cloned from the company’s Horizon Worlds tech. It is, according to EconoTimes, “modeled on [Zuckerberg’s] personal mannerisms, communication style, and publicly available statements.”
Such a thing can probably be done, with the Meta founder actively helping to refine the digital entity’s function. The question is: How well? It’ll apparently advise and guide internal staff without Zuckerberg having to get personally involved. Exactly what it’ll advise on and how much autonomy the company will give the simulacrum is not yet clear.
It’s clear that the digital recreation, which isn’t official, could be yet another of Meta’s experiments. The Metaverse idea that prompted the company’s name change was one. That didn’t pan out so well, with Horizon Worlds recently getting the axe. It got better, since there were apparently enough people using it, but the concept (and VR in general) has cost the company a ton of money in the process. Combining a virtual presence with AI might be another stab at making the metaverse a thing.
