Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is working on developing a new range of AI-powered chatbots that will offer users the ability to choose between different story personalities. According to information provided by the Financial Times, the CEO of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, believes that this new technology could make a difference compared to systems such as OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, and Bard, from Google.
The goal of this initiative, which is expected to launch in September, is to improve user engagement with Meta platforms, especially its recent text-based app, Threads. The company has been designing prototype chatbots that are capable of holding human-like conversations. Based on this information, the system would be able to adopt the personas of characters like Abraham Lincoln or advise on travel options in the style of a surfer. With this strategy, Meta seeks to retain its users against the competition, particularly against popular platforms such as TikTok.
In addition to providing entertainment and fun, these chatbots will also serve a practical purpose by offering a new search feature and offering recommendations to users. However, ChatGPT also has the ability to chat with users by imitating a specific style. In fact, the most seasoned users have managed to make this artificial intelligence behave in a specific way, going so far as to bypass the censorship of OpenAI itself.
Last February Zuckerberg already commented that he wanted to incorporate “AI characters” into his products. “In the longer term, we will focus on developing AI characters that can help people in various ways,” he noted. “We are exploring experiences with text (like chat on WhatsApp and Messenger), with images (like Instagram creative filters and ad formats), and with video and multi-modal experiences,” he added.
On June 5, software developer Alessandro Paluzzi posted a screenshot on his personal Twitter account showing how Instagram had a chatbot. Specifically, he could, in addition to answering questions, imitate 30 different AI personalities; and what is supposed to be a further step to what the CEO of Meta had commented at the beginning of the year.
In a call last week, Zuckerberg not only reported Meta’s earnings but was excited about the roadmap ahead. “We have continued progress on Threads, Reels, Llama 2, and some innovative AI products in the pipeline, as well as Quest 3 launching this fall. We’re executing all of this right now and it’s really good to see the decisions and investments we’ve made start to work,” he explained.
And about the LLaMA language model, he commented: “you can imagine many ways in which AI can help people connect and express themselves in our applications, creative tools that make it easier and more fun to share content, agents that act as support, coaches or that can help you engage with businesses and creators and more.”
With the imminent launch of these chatbots, Meta hopes to compete with other tech companies that are also working on similar AI offerings, such as OpenAI and Google. More details about Meta’s AI roadmap are expected to be revealed at its Connect developer event in September.
