The social media platform Facebook started its journey into the metaverse two years ago on October 28, 2021.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg renamed the firm to “Meta Platforms Inc” showcasing its commitment to building the Metaverse.
Meta described the metaverse as the “integrated environment that links all the company’s products and services”
However, recent developments have led to speculations that Meta Platforms might be pivoting toward Artificial Intelligence. The company is pushing toward AI through diverse products and endorsements.
Meta’s AI Activities Attract Speculations
Meta has been an avid researcher in AI technology. Its laboratory has released a lot of research results about the tech.
Some areas it has researched include enabling real-time translation of various languages.
It also researched how to use AI for children’s drawing animation and how to use imagery brain activity to decode speech.
Notably, Meta launched two notable AI-inspired projects, Galatica and BlenderBot 3.
The first project is a large-language model that synthesizes scientific research, while the second project is an all-purpose chatbot touted to improve safety and skills over time.
Washington Post reported that these two projects failed to gain traction. Galatica attracted public criticism due to its inaccurate rhetoric, leading to a complete pause on it.
On the other hand, BlenderBot 3 didn’t gain much user interest and hasn’t recorded any growth.
Since then, Meta has dabbled in many other AI innovations, including some advertising tools but hasn’t made groundbreaking progress yet.
One of the upcoming advertising tools from Meta is AI Sandbox, an app that will enable marketers to create more visual options and texts for their ads campaign.
The company executives stated that AI Sandbox would ensure marketers create more targeted ads for different customers, allowing them to make slight changes to backgrounds, copy, and pictures.
According to the Washington Post report, Meta Platforms employees asked if the company was still interested in the Metaverse during a meeting with top executives in April.
In response, the executives reiterated that Meta hadn’t changed its focus from the Meterverse.
Artificial Intelligence is a Vital Tool In Metaverse Development, Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg also denied insinuations that Meta’s attention towards AI means lesser push in the metaverse.
Instead, he maintained that AI is important to the Metaverse as it will enable developers to create more products to push the dream.
As such, people who have less exposure to technology can still utilize generative AI to create a new world in Meta’s virtual reality-powered applications.
To buttress his points on AI’s importance to Meta’s businesses and Apps, Zuckerberg stated that AI led to the good results the company gets in all its businesses and apps.
First, AI has increased user retention on Instagram reels. It also powers how Meta delivers ads, recommends content to users, and removes offensive and rule-breaking content.
Also, during the earnings release in April, Zuckerberg disclosed that AI boosted Meta’s revenue growth in the first quarter of 2023.