Meta introduces AI chatbots with 'personalized character'

Meta has unveiled a range of new chatbots for its Messenger service that have distinct personalities and specialize in specific subjects like holidays or cooking advice. This announcement comes amid a competitive race between tech companies to develop more accurate and personalized artificial intelligence. However, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, admitted that the chatbots still have limitations. Speaking at Meta's first in-person event since the pandemic, Zuckerberg expressed his excitement about the advancements made in AI over the past year. The company's primary chatbot, known as "Meta AI," can be used for settling arguments or answering various questions during chats. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner have also joined the initiative, lending their personalities to different chatbot characters. Meta aims to create chatbots that not only provide information but also entertain users. The chatbots are based on Llama 2, Meta's large language model released for commercial use in July. However, these chatbots do not have access to real-time information, and there are still limitations regarding the questions they can answer. Zuckerberg also discussed the metaverse—an expansive virtual world that Meta has heavily invested in. Additionally, Meta provided further details about its new virtual reality headset, Quest 3, during the event, describing it as the first mainstream mixed reality headset. This device, featuring forward-facing cameras, allows for augmented reality functionality and is set to be available from October 10th. Despite Meta's significant investment in the metaverse, its VR division has suffered $21 billion in losses since the beginning of 2022. The release of the Quest 3 follows Apple's entry into the higher-priced mixed reality hardware market with the Vision Pro earlier this year.