Member-only story
How AI Replaced the Metaverse as Zuckerberg’s Top Priority
Bloomberg Businessweek has an excellent overview of how Mark Zuckerberg has pivoted from $50 Billion in losses on his metaverse efforts to embrace open source AI to catch up and stay relevant in this booming tech.
I read it as a cautionary tale of how one person’s insecurities and ambition can affect humanity. Meta is the biggest tech company still fully controlled by its founder. With 3 billion people relying on it for news and content, it arguably is the world’s biggest influencer. A slight tweak to its algorithm could sway elections anywhere.
TL;DR critical points of the article
➡️ Mark Zuckerberg shifts Meta’s focus from the metaverse to artificial intelligence (AI) as the company’s top priority.
➡️ Meta’s significant investment in the metaverse, with a $50 billion loss, prompts a strategic reevaluation towards AI.
➡️ The success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT influences Meta to concentrate more on generative AI, leading to substantial progress in AI research and development.
➡️ Zuckerberg restructures Meta, creating a separate generative AI product group and redirecting AI research efforts from theoretical to practical applications.
