Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has announced its latest venture into the world of artificial intelligence (AI): a group of chatbots that feature celebrities and pop culture icons as their avatars. The chatbots, which are powered by Meta’s custom-made Llama 2 language model, are designed to entertain users rather than simply answer their queries.
Meet the Meta AI chatbots
The Meta AI chatbots are a collection of 28 AI characters that can be accessed through Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp. Each chatbot has a different personality and specialty, based on the celebrity or influencer that represents them. For example, users can chat with Snoop Dogg as the Dungeon Master, an AI that specializes in video games, or Naomi Osaka as the Anime Superfan, an AI that loves anime and manga. Other celebrities that lend their voices and faces to the chatbots include Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, Paris Hilton, Dwayne Wade, and Sam Kerr.
Meta says that the chatbots are not meant to mimic the real celebrities, but rather to create fun and engaging conversations based on specific contexts. Users can ask questions, get suggestions, or just have a casual chat with the AI characters. The chatbots also have their own social media accounts, where they post updates and interact with fans.
How Meta AI works
Meta AI is based on a large language model called Llama 2, which was developed by Meta’s AI research team. Llama 2 is similar to other language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing and Copilot, but it is customized for Meta’s platforms and applications. Llama 2 can generate both text responses and photo-realistic images, depending on the user’s input and the chatbot’s context.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, Meta AI will also have access to real-time search information through a partnership with Bing. This will allow the chatbots to provide more relevant and up-to-date answers to users’ queries. However, Meta says that the chatbots are still in beta form and do not have access to information in real-time yet.
Why Meta is launching AI chatbots
Meta’s launch of AI chatbots is part of its vision for creating a virtual reality known as “the metaverse”. The metaverse is a digital space where people can interact with each other and with virtual objects using various devices such as VR headsets, smart glasses, smartphones, and computers. Meta believes that AI chatbots can enhance the metaverse experience by providing entertainment and connection for users.
Meta also says that it is building software that will allow anyone to create their own AI chatbot in the future. This will enable users to customize their own AI characters and personalities for different purposes and platforms. Meta hopes that this will foster more creativity and innovation in the field of artificial intelligence.