Meta prepares AI products amid privacy concerns — Asharq Al-Awsat
US company Meta is preparing to unveil new products for the artificial intelligence era at its annual Connect conference in Menlo Park, California, United States. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on September 23. As Asharq Al-Awsat reports, the company is simultaneously facing growing concerns over privacy and child safety in its services.
Muse AI agent
Earlier this month, Meta launched Muse, its first consumer app with an AI agent designed to perform tasks on behalf of users. After connecting personal accounts, including financial, medical or shopping-related ones, users can instruct the app to sign up for services, schedule appointments or make calls.
Muse runs on Meta’s proprietary artificial intelligence models and is intended to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Amazon this week blocked the use of Meta bots for automated purchases on behalf of users. At the same time, Instacart, Shopify and Expedia announced partnerships to integrate their services with Muse.
Smart glasses and privacy
Meta introduced its first pair of interactive smart glasses in 2021. Last year, the company showcased augmented reality glasses with a display that projects images onto the lenses. Earlier this year, Meta also released AI glasses under its own brand, separately from its partnership with eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica, which produces several Ray-Ban Meta models.
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The new devices have raised privacy concerns. Last year, Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox said that rules for using such devices would be shaped through social norms. The company also said that the recording indicator on the glasses would always be visible to people nearby, and that an attempt to damage it should disable the camera.
Child safety lawsuits
In August, Meta settled a lawsuit filed by dozens of US state attorneys general. They accused the company of violating federal and state consumer protection laws and children’s online privacy laws. Under the settlement, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion in fines and introduce restrictions for teenagers.
The company is also facing restrictions and bans on social media use by younger users in various countries. Thousands of potential health harm lawsuits are also being considered in US state courts.
