Meta announces new AI products and smart glasses at developer conference amid ongoing privacy and child safety concerns.
Meta is doubling down on artificial intelligence and smart eyewear as it prepares for its annual developer conference Wednesday, even as privacy concerns dog the company’s ambitious hardware plans. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will unveil new AI-powered products at the Menlo Park event, including expansions to Muse, the company’s digital assistant app.
- ▪Meta’s Muse app, launched this month, performs tasks like booking appointments and making calls after users connect financial, health and shopping accounts.
- ▪Amazon blocked Meta’s AI shopping bots this week; Instacart, Shopify and Expedia have partnered to integrate services into Muse instead.
- ▪Meta’s smart glasses have drawn criticism dubbed ‘pervert glasses’ over recording concerns, though the company says a visible light indicator shows when cameras are active.
- ▪Tampering with the recording indicator light disables the camera, Meta says, and social norms around use will eventually emerge, executives claim.
- ▪The company is reportedly developing audio-only smart glasses and a new generation of mixed-reality eyewear.
- ▪Meta settled a US lawsuit in August with state attorneys general over child safety violations, agreeing to pay up to $18 billion in fines and restrict teenage account features.
- ▪The company faces social media bans for minors globally and thousands of pending personal injury lawsuits in US state courts.
- ▪Muse competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude and runs on Meta’s own AI models.
- ▪Meta’s Connect conference opens Wednesday at 4pm Pacific (Thursday 4am Pakistan time) with Zuckerberg’s keynote address.
Source: according to media reports
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