Meta staffers will soon have the option of chatting with a creepy-sounding virtual clone of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to a report published Monday.
The AI-powered Zuck will be a “photorealistic” 3D copy of the eccentric executive and is being trained to recreate his mannerisms, tone and even voice, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The 41-year-old billionaire is said to be personally involved in building his AI doppelganger, which will be able to spout his publicly available statements and “his own recent thinking on company strategies,” according to the FT.
The project’s goal is reportedly to help employees “feel more connected” to Zuckerberg.
Meta representatives were not quoted in the FT article and did not immediately respond to a Post request for comment.
The Zuckerberg clone is one of multiple AI-powered characters currently in development at Meta, according to the FT. For now, it’s unclear who else will be portrayed.
The digital Zuck initiative drew jeers online, with commenters referring to the tech titan’s well-known history of awkward public appearances.
Using the AI version of Zuckerberg is “probably less weird than engaging with the real version,” one X user quipped.
“This sounds like a horror movie. You’re at work but now you have to run all decisions by robot Zuck,” another wrote.
Yet another user struck a technophobic note, describing the project as one of the “things that make you want to retreat to the woods and live like a hobbit.”
It isn’t the first time that Zuckerberg — who has in the past admitted to being “like the most awkward person” — has experimented with a digital version of himself.
The Meta boss previously unveiled his personal avatar in 2022 as part of the company’s doomed foray into the metaverse, which was instantly ripped apart by critics across the internet.
The new effort is separate from Zuckerberg’s initiative to build a specialized AI model dubbed a CEO agent that will help him perform his job. That project was first reported by the Wall Street Journal last month.
Meanwhile, Zuck has gotten more personally involved with Meta’s AI development efforts and has been spending five to 10 hours per week coding, according to the FT.
Meta has said it plans to spend up to $135 billion this year alone as it ramps up development of AI projects and scrambles to compete with rivals like Sam Altman’s OpenAI, Dario Amodei’s Anthropic and Sundar Pichai’s Google.
The Facebook and Instagram parent is sure to face scrutiny from online safety advocates if it attempts to bring its AI characters to the public.
Last year, the company faced major blowback after it was revealed that internal guidelines allowed for its AI chatbots to have “romantic or sensual” chats with kids.
In January, Meta announced that it would no longer allow teens to interact with its AI characters “until the updated experience is ready.”
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