Zuckerberg builds AI version of himself to interact with Meta staff

In news straight out of science fiction, Meta has been working on an artificial intelligence-powered clone of Mark Zuckerberg, according to the Financial Times.

The digital duplicate, which is being trained on Zuckerberg's actual voice, words, and mannerisms, reportedly would be used to interact with staff. The FT noted that goal of the program is to foster a sense of connection between Meta workers and Zuckerberg.

The AI version of the Meta CEO is part of a push by the tech giant to create photorealistic 3D models of personas. 

Were Zuckerberg able to outsource his own staff interactions to an electronic doppelganger, it would mark yet another major way in which AI is transforming work — and the world — as we know it. 

While AI has the potential to deliver many benefits — such as discovering new medicines — it also comes with risks, including the possibility of widespread job losses.

Additionally, the massive, energy-hungry data centers that power AI models have caused electricity prices to go up for everyone. 

A Bloomberg analysis found that ratepayers living near data centers saw their monthly electricity bills jump by as much as 267% in just five years. 

With computing power and electricity both in high demand, sources at Meta told the Financial Times that the computational demands of photorealistic, three-dimensional models remained the company's biggest hurdle.   

On Reddit, users flooded the comments with their takes on the news.

"Wouldn't that be a Twilight Zone episode?" asked a commenter. 

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"The second one will be more lifelike," joked another. 

Redditors weren't the only ones letting their opinions be known. Professional headline writers also got into the mix. 

"Meta creating AI version of Mark Zuckerberg so staff can talk to the boss," wrote the Guardian. 

"Zuckerberg didn't think he was robotic enough already, so now he's using AI," declared Mother Jones.

"What's better than one boss? Two!" the publication added in a subheadline.

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