Mark Zuckerberg showcases a concept for voice-controlled VR space generated by AI, plans for a universal language translator, and more in a Meta livestream
'Let's go to the beach' — Meta is testing an artificial intelligence system that lets people build parts of virtual worlds by describing them …
Context & Ripple Effects
Meta had already paired its new corporate identity with a VR roadmap at its 2021 Connect presentation. The livestream adds AI-mediated world creation and translation to that immersive-computing agenda, shifting attention from hardware announcements toward how people create and communicate inside virtual spaces.
First-order effects
- Meta is testing a system that turns spoken or written descriptions into parts of virtual worlds, reducing the amount of manual construction required for users and developers.
- Meta's universal-translator plan positions language translation as a built-in communication capability alongside its VR ambitions.
Second-order effects
- Developers building for Meta's VR and mixed-reality ecosystem face a platform direction in which generative creation and voice controls may become core interaction layers rather than optional app features.
- Translation and AI-assisted scene generation give Meta more reasons to concentrate social interaction, content creation, and platform tooling within its own immersive products.
Third-order effects
- If Meta carries these concepts into its developer platforms, immersive computing may increasingly compete on AI interfaces that lower the barriers to making spaces and participating across languages, not only on headset capabilities.
The trend: Meta's metaverse strategy is evolving toward AI-native interfaces that make virtual environments easier to create, navigate, and share across languages.
Related: Ambient AI · Meta · Meta's 2021 Connect presentation · Meta's mixed-reality developer platform
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Discussion
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@metaai
@metaai
on x
We're excited to share details on Project CAIRaoke, a breakthrough in conversational AI. With this end-to-end system, we'll be able to have much more personal, contextual conversations than we can with the systems people are familiar with today. https://ow.ly/... https://twitter.…
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@meta
@meta
on x
“Përshëndetje!” “こんにち は!” “Si jeni?” The metaverse should be accessible to everyone, no matter what language you speak 🗣️ we're teaching AI to translate hundreds of spoken and written languages in real time. Learn more here ➡️ https://ai.facebook.com/... https://twitter.com/...
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@meta
@meta
on x
Talking to virtual assistants should be easy, so we developed an AI model that will let you communicate with them just like how you talk to friends and family. Learn more here ➡️ https://ai.facebook.com/... https://twitter.com/...
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@metanewsroom
@metanewsroom
on x
Today at our @MetaAI Inside the Lab event, we shared our research and innovations that will help us build for the metaverse. From advanced translation technologies to next-gen conversational AI, we've recapped some of our biggest announcements. https://about.fb.com/...
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@walthickey
Walter Hickey
on x
lmao throwing any vaporware they have at the wall to see what sticks “did not offer a timeframe for completing these projects or even a roadmap for major milestones [...] the company stressed the utopian possibilities of universal language translation.” https://www.theverge.com/.…
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@ericjang11
Eric Jang
on x
Meta AI's new AI day talk https://www.facebook.com/... is quite interesting - NL and generative models seem to play an important tool for their Metaverse strategy. Would be interesting to see if general purpose robotics gets solved in photogrammetric environments first.
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@sam_l_shead
Sam Shead
on x
Here's a bit of news. Worth noting Google and Microsoft already have similar translators https://www.protocol.com/...
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@schrep
Mike Schroepfer
on x
Universal translator from @StarTrek is within our reach if we focus on it. Access any information, speak to any person, regardless of your native language. So awesome #AI https://ai.facebook.com/...
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@mattnavarra
Matt Navarra
on x
A Meta AI prototype lets you build virtual worlds just by describing them https://www.theverge.com/...
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@larsiusprime
@larsiusprime
on x
Like even if fully general AI never materializes, I don't trust with Facebook with stupid AI
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@larsiusprime
@larsiusprime
on x
Where does “break up facebook” rank on the effective altruism chart for AI safety https://twitter.com/...
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
I have a ton of questions about what's actually happening here and how much is “AI”, but the possibilities of telling an algorithm to turn bizarre nonsense into 3D models is so tempting.
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
This is, Zuckerberg allows, very difficult! But Meta thinks “in our lifetimes.”
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
Meta's talking about creating a “world model” that can do long-term planning and reasoning. This includes robotics, and a researcher just used the phrase “robots that will break out of the lab.”
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
Sorry I'm just still really excited about the dream of making a Holodeck materialize my deranged AI Dungeon scenarios.
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
At this point there's always kind of a boilerplate part where Meta talks about privacy and security and equity, so just imagine that's the end of the keynote! Now Zuck is handing things over to the AI team.
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
oh also Meta is working on a universal translator nbd
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
There's I think a lot of very wonky AI stuff coming up here, which I'm going to drop off on. But there's an interesting framing of all this as metaverse-ish tech in Zuckerberg's keynote when a lot of it is far more applicable to Facebook etc.
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@lizzadwoskin
Elizabeth Dwoskin
on x
Did anyone catch the moment where the Facebook exec spoke about his vision for having a virtual assistant following you around in the metaverse in today's AI event? Which could be used for what exactly?
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@thedextriarchy
Adi Robertson
on x
There's a new advance on BlenderBot, the AI chatbot system. Called CAIRaoke, which is cute. https://venturebeat.com/...
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@metaai
@metaai
on x
Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun (@ylecun) is sketching an alternate vision for building human-level AI. LeCun proposes that the ability to learn “world models” — internal models of how the world works — may be the key. Learn more: https://ow.ly/... https://twitter.com/...
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@qwongsj
Queenie Wong
on x
@lizzadwoskin Yes, it sounded kind of creepy. Some of the examples in the blog post about Project CAIRaoke include an assistant helping you pick out a shirt that will go with your pants. The assistant will know your favorite color is red.
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@qwongsj
Queenie Wong
on x
Facebook parent Meta unveils Project CAIRaoke to make AI assistants smarter. As far as I can tell, there isn't any singing involved in this project: https://www.cnet.com/...
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@matt_on_tech
Matthew S. Smith
on x
Ok I love dunking on Meta as much as anyone, but this demo is...actually kinda cool. https://www.youtube.com/...
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@ylecun
@ylecun
on x
Always looking for The Next Big Thing ☺️ https://twitter.com/...
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@schrep
Mike Schroepfer
on x
~7-8 years ago we were just getting Supervised Learning to work and @ylecun told us to focus on Self Supervision as the current approach wouldn't scale. Took us a bit to catch-up so I'd listen to him this time:) https://ai.facebook.com/...