Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently released an extensive 6,500-word essay titled "The Future is for Everyone," presenting an upbeat vision of an AI-driven future. In this future, he suggests, “everyone will have an exceptionally capable personal agent that understands you, your goals, and everything you care about.”
During a recent episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Rebecca Bellan, and I explored the reasons behind the widespread skepticism toward Zuckerberg’s perspective. Our colleague Russell Brandom, for instance, criticized the manifesto, stating it's “exactly why people don’t like AI.”
Rebecca Bellan drew a comparison between Zuckerberg and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who recently refuted claims of being an "AI doomer." She noted that the Meta CEO appears to be positioning himself “almost like an anti-Dario,” though she highlighted Meta’s past record as a significant concern.
Rebecca elaborated on this point, recalling the early days of social media: “You look back to the social media days, [Zuckerberg] was saying that he wants to make sure that everyone has an outlet for talking to their friends and having a social network.” She contrasted this initial promise with the current reality, asking, “And what do we have instead? We have ragebaiting and advertisements, and not connection.”
The following is an excerpt from our discussion, edited for conciseness and clarity.
Rebecca Bellan offered a cynical perspective, suggesting that Meta's current strategy represents an attempt to secure victory in a different domain. She observed that Meta isn't dominating the frontier of closed-model AI, nor is it necessarily leading in the open-source sector. Instead, she posited, Zuckerberg is aiming for success in the realm of "personal empowerment," as outlined in his "The Future Is for Everyone" letter, by developing AI models for individual use on personal devices.
She recalled a similar "Futures for Everyone" letter from the previous year, which suggested that much of this AI would integrate into glasses and other wearables. However, she noted that the ultimate hardware form factor for this technology remains ambiguous, implying that individuals might be expected to choose their preferred device.
Zuckerberg's vision involves users leveraging Meta’s new AI model, Glimmer, for tasks such as schedule management, message drafting, and file organization. This AI is conceived to be always active, operating seamlessly anytime, anywhere, irrespective of internet connectivity.
Concurrently, the existence of Muse Spark suggests a strategy for Meta to retain a degree of control over its most advanced models. This also serves as a potential revenue stream for individuals and companies seeking to scale their computational resources or undertake more extensive projects.
Anthony Ha added to the context, noting Meta's substantial investments in AI, including reports last year of significant compensation offered to AI scientists. Yet, he pointed out that Meta rarely features in discussions about the leading "frontier labs" or top AI companies.
He further observed that Meta is not typically associated with popular consumer AI chatbots. While users interact with Meta AI tools within platforms like Instagram and Facebook, the company isn't top-of-mind when considering a “personal assistant” AI. Ha suggested that this essay might be a strategic effort to reposition Meta and assert dominance in a sector where it has not previously achieved significant success.
Rebecca concurred, adding a caveat that Zuckerberg's pronouncements should be viewed "with a grain of salt," given his history of presenting grand visions for how his companies will empower individuals. While acknowledging Llama as a valuable open-source tool, she questioned the consumer-level utility of Meta AI, remarking that it often manifests as “a lot of creepy-ass chatbots.”
She summarized her main point: Zuckerberg’s letter and his concept of personal empowerment are generating negative reactions primarily "because it’s him who’s saying it." Referencing AI editor Russell Brandom's recent article on the topic, she reiterated the historical parallel: the initial promise of social media to provide an "outlet for talking to their friends and having a social network" ultimately devolved into "ragebaiting and advertisements, and not connection."
Kirsten Korosec agreed that the manifesto failed to resonate positively with many. Echoing Russell Brandom’s sentiment, she stated that the essay contributes to public animosity towards AI, precisely “because it is coming from Zuckerberg.” She described the vision as “very Pollyannish,” noting that it presents an overly optimistic, unrealistic portrayal of AI solely as a beneficial tool for humanity, while neglecting to address the potential “extreme costs” that would inevitably accompany such advancements, thus fueling widespread negative reactions.
Rebecca reiterated her perception that Zuckerberg is positioning himself “almost like an anti-Dario.” She contrasted this with the rhetoric from other “frontier labs” that frequently discuss “pacing the frontier, pulling back, focus on safety,” and the need to “slow down development” – often in response to recent cybersecurity incidents – even if their actions don't always align with these statements.
Mark Zuckerberg, conversely, adopts a firm stance: “No, no, we do not slow down. We cannot afford to give an inch to China, and slowing down would only hurt the individual, who can be empowered by this technology.”
Yet, when Rebecca attempted to engage with Muse Glimmer, wondering if she could download it to her MacBook, she discovered it requires “specific hardware.” She noted that this makes the technology “not actually that accessible to the average person.”
Kirsten succinctly commented, “It’s not for everyone. Not yet.”
Anthony Ha offered one positive observation regarding the extensive 6,500-word manifesto, which he noted was longer than nearly any TechCrunch publication. He highlighted a particular sentence where Zuckerberg challenges: “If you are an AI doomer and you believe that that’s the future that AI is going to bring, why are you building this stuff?”
While Anthony considered this a fair point, his primary takeaway wasn't necessarily an endorsement of a positive AI future. Instead, it prompted him to question the motivations of those who foresee dire outcomes yet continue to advance AI development.
He also underscored Russell Brandom’s valid point about the "messenger" being a significant factor. Anthony suggested that public suspicion towards Mark Zuckerberg and Meta, already prevalent for various reasons, could potentially intensify with the upcoming release of a new Facebook-focused film.
Furthermore, the nature of the AI future promised by these companies often sparks intense public backlash. He noted the frequent “viral pile-ons” that occur when figures like Sam Altman or Mark Zuckerberg make predictions about AI’s future, often met with the collective question, “Who wants this?” A memorable recent instance involved Sam Altman suggesting the use of ChatGPT to create podcasts tailored to children’s interests for school commutes, which was widely countered with the sentiment, “Why don’t you just talk to your kid?”
Anthony concluded that roughly half of the manifesto consisted of abstract claims about AI “unleash[ing] all this creativity and invention.” He argued that such vague promises are unlikely to persuade AI skeptics due to their unrealistically broad nature. While the more concrete proposals, such as personal coaches and assistants, contained some appealing elements, many other aspects proved unconvincing.
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