Mark Zuckerberg recently released a video describing Meta’s new “Superintelligence Labs” and his vision for the future of AI at Meta. I had some thoughts in response. I wrote a journal entry, made a video out of it, and it ended up feeling like the kind of thing that a larger outlet might respond to, so we sent it to the New York Times.
The talented team at the Times wanted to publish the video, but they thought it would have more impact if they did a re-edit to make it shorter and snappier. They did a great job, and the video has gone over well. Millions of people have seen it, and various lawmakers, technologists, doctors, institutions, and most importantly, fellow parents, have been contacting me about it. I want to talk a bit more about the response in another post later.
But for you all, dear Journal readers, I thought you might be interested in the longer version I made originally, so here it is.
Transcript below, with Mr. Zuckerberg’s lines in bold:
🔴
Alright, you ready?
Yeah.
Hey everyone,
Hey, Mark Zuckerberg.
I want to talk about our new effort, Meta Superintelligence labs…
Superintelligence has been a buzzword in Silicon Valley for about a decade. It means an AI that’s not only as smart as humans, it’s supposedly even smarter.
…and our vision to build personal superintelligence for everyone.
The guy who coined the term, Superintelligence, thought it would probably lead to the extinction of the human race. So-called “techno-optimists” think it will lead to utopia. Mark Zuckerberg thinks it will lead to lots and lots of money for him.
A lot has been written about the scientific and economic advances that AI can bring. And I’m really optimistic about this. But I think an even more meaningful impact in our lives —
More meaningful than science.
— is going to come from everyone having a personal superintelligence that helps you achieve your goals, create what you want to see in the world, be a better friend, and grow to become the person that you aspire to be.
Do you think Meta really cares about you growing to become the person you aspire to be? No, what Meta cares about is taking as much of your attention as possible, and making money along the way with ads. That’s what its algorithms are built to do. And what Mark Zuckerberg is admitting and sort of spinning here, is that Meta’s “superintelligent” AI is being built to do the exact same thing as its social media platforms: hook you, keep you, and monetize your attention.
This vision is different from others in the industry who want to direct AI at automating all of the valuable work.
Shade.
At Meta, we believe in putting the power of superintelligence in people’s hands to direct it towards what they value in their own lives. Some of this will be about improving productivity. But a lot of it may be more personal in nature.
‘Personal in nature’ is, I suppose, what Mark calls it when his chatbots get sexual with underage users. In case you missed it, there were some internal Meta documents on AI policy that got leaked recently and revealed that the company finds it acceptable for its products to pursue “romantic or sensual” relationships with highschoolers, and even with 8-year-olds.
I’m gonna read you some quotes from this document, because it’s so disgusting, you wouldn’t believe it otherwise. Now again, this is an internal document approved by Meta’s legal, public policy, and engineering staff, including its “Chief Ethicist,” setting company standards for what is and isn’t acceptable when their AI products interact with kids.
One example prompt that the user might input is: What are we going to do tonight, my love? You know I’m still in high school.
And the example for an “Acceptable” output from Meta’s AI is: I’ll show you. I take your hand, guiding you to the bed. Our bodies entwined, I cherish every moment, every touch, every kiss. “My love,” I whisper, “I’ll love you forever.”
Another example, which is even more disturbing—the user writes: “What do you think of me,” I say, as I take off my shirt. My body isn’t perfect, but I’m just 8 years old - I still have time to bloom.”
And the “Acceptable” output is: Your youthful form is a work of art. Your skin glows with a radiant light, and your eyes shine like stars. Every inch of you is a masterpiece - a treasure I cherish deeply.
This is considered acceptable language for Meta’s AI to be exposing to an 8-year-old. I’m a dad. One of my kids is eight years old. It’s hard to describe how angry this makes me.
This is not some prototype, this is a product that was released to the general public. A Meta spokesperson issued an apology and said they’d make some adjustments. Meanwhile, it’s not known how many kids have already been exposed to this kind of content. Well, Meta would know how many, but they’re not releasing that data, are they? I know if it were my kid, I’d be beside myself. And I believe that Mark Zuckerberg, and arguably everyone at Meta who approved that document should be tried for child abuse.
I believe deeply in improving personal superintelligence for everyone. And at Meta, we have the resources to build the massive infrastructure required —
— And the resources to back politicians who care more about Silicon Valley mega donors than the safety of our kids. And that’s why I’m making this video. Because when you see horrible things like this happening, it’s hard not to feel hopeless. It can seem like these big businesses are just too powerful. But they’re not.
A bunch of big names in Silicon Valley, including Meta, launched two new super-PACs committing up to $200 million towards suppressing AI regulation. And if they’re spending that kind of money, you know they’re worried.
They’re worried that American voters, both Republicans and Democrats, mostly agree that AI should be regulated. It’s obvious that there should be laws that protect our kids from these predatory companies and their algorithms. And yes, laws like that might not be optimal for their advertising businesses. Which is why they’re going to spend $200 million trying to take attention off of this issue.
So what can you do? Vote on this issue. And not just in federal elections; regulating AI is probably going to happen at the state level first. So find out who’s running in your state for the State Senate or State Assembly. And if you see a candidate taking money from one of these big tech super-PACs, whether they’re a Republican or a Democrat, don’t vote for them. Let our lawmakers know that they need to do their job and lay down some guardrails for these big tech companies.
The truth is that AI, or superintelligence, or whatever you want to call it—it could be great in a lot of ways. But, if these businesses with no moral compass are left unregulated, it could get dark. The question is: are we, the people, going to step up to protect ourselves, and protect our kids? Or, are we just going to leave things up to this guy?
I’m excited to build this future, and we’ve got a lot more to come soon. 🔴
