Mark Zuckerberg is pouring billions of dollars into tighter things. Why does his Instagram pitch seem so overwhelming?

Zuckerberg acknowledged that AI is moving forward rapidly and is beginning to see “a glimpse of how AI systems are improving.” Superintelligence (usually “visible” is a vague term that refers to AI that is far greater than human abilities in virtually every domain, including scientific creativity, general wisdom, and social skills.

Rival AI companies focus on scientific or economic breakthroughs, but Zuckerberg explained, his vision is clearly micro, targeting individuals, and society is not large. He wants you to “build personalized AI that will help you achieve your goals, create what you want to see in the world, become a better friend and grow to be the person you want.”

That’s a pitch that naturally coincides with what the meta has always been building. It’s a consumer experience designed to keep people involved and sell more ads.

In Zuckerberg’s narration, AI does not overturn social order or redefine civilization. Accelerate existing trends. Seeing the previous technological revolutions such as the mechanization of agriculture, much fewer farmers were able to produce all the food the world needed, Zuckerberg said, “Most people decided to spend more time enjoying creativity, culture, relationships and life.

For Zuckerberg, it means the future of personal devices that have permeated AI. In particular, it means “augmented reality glasses that allow us to see what we see, hear what we hear, and interact with us all day long.” Meta has already produced versions of such glasses along with Ray-Ban. In his view, the next step in computing is not to unlock scientific frontiers, but to help people connect, create and wear meta-hardware.

It is difficult to compare Zuckerberg’s bigoted vision with the kind of thinking that once defined Silicon Valley. when apple Founder Steve Jobs described the computer as a “bicycle for the mind” and provided a phor that he felt was profound as a tool for human progress. In contrast, Zuckerberg imagines something close as a Ray-Ban pair that will help you… will it become a better friend?

Even among today’s AI leaders, this mission seems strangely small. Openai CEO Sam Altman talks about human prosperity (what it means) and studying research. Google Deepmind’s Demis Hassabis wants to unlock the secrets of the universe. Humanity CEO Dario Amody believes that if AI doesn’t destroy us first, it could become the most important tool in human history. Zuckerberg? He sounds like you just want a better reel.

This creates an impressive cutting. Zuckerberg has committed an incredible resource to Meta’s Superintelligence efforts. A $14.3 billion deal with ScaleAI will ensure founder Alexandr Wang leads the initiative. Hundreds of millions of people offering to seduce Openai, Google, Apple and top researchers in humanity. Over tens of millions of people in annual infrastructure spending to bolster the large data centers behind Meta’s AI push. The scale of investment suggests ambitions that change the world. The personal pitch (personal AI) of smart glasses is not fully measured. At least Meta should not nod to, say, cure cancer?

To be fair, superintelligence is still a very abstract idea, and even the most epic promises about supporting humanity can sound hollow or indefinite. Still, even the best paying researchers don’t need to be inspired by missions?

That’s accompanied by it Blog postZuckerberg said it “supposes new safety concerns” and Meta acknowledged the risks of super intelligence, saying it “should be strict about mitigating these risks.” He also surrounded the next few years in harsh words. “The rest of the decade appears to be a critical period of time that determines the path this technology will take, and whether superintelligence is a tool for personal empowerment or a force focused on replacing the massive swaths of society,” he writes.

But I hope that the vision of superintelligence goes beyond personal empowerment and moves towards broader social benefits. It is clear that Meta has the resources and will to build infrastructure for the future of AI and Superintelligence. Whether or not it can construct meaningful reasons remains an open question.