Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang headlined last week’s Siggraph conference. Although the fireside chat with Huang did not cover any new ground, the subsequent conversation between Zuckerberg and Huang was fascinating, especially in light of what they did not discuss, which was Facebook’s future with AI. However, based on their comments, I believe I am qualified to fill that gap.
They differed over the future of personal technology, mostly because Zuckerberg spoke about what could be done, whereas Huang spoke about what should be done. Taking a closer look at that dynamic is worth it, so let’s do it this week.
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Zuckerberg Remake About Meta and Nvidia
A fascinating aspect of Zuckerberg’s session with Huang was that he seemed like a real person instead of the robotic character he typically reflects. In addition to being smart, which he’s done before, he came across as personable, which was new to me.
I thought it was kind of like “Star Trek, The Next Generation” when Lore was Data’s more emotional twin. Zuckerberg’s people skills have improved dramatically since I last saw him, thanks to a lot of hard work. There’s no doubt he’ll be better received now.
The Future of Personal Technology! Innovations Shaping Tomorrow
While Huang and Zuckerberg talked a lot, when they talked about AR/VR headsets, it felt like they were into the next phase of smartphones.
The GUI interface we initially got with PCs is still the main basis for smartphones. In essence, these devices are small PCs with touchscreens in place of keyboards and mice. A natural language interface can, however, be used for artificial intelligence, particularly for conversational AI. It might be possible to speak with your smartphone at first, but wouldn’t it be better if you wore something with a microphone close to your face?
People today are constantly buried in their phones, which can be incredibly dangerous. When the display is translucent in front of their eyes and you have a camera, like what self-driving cars do, then the glasses will tell you how to avoid obstacles (and cars) while your hands are free to carry stuff.
The Future of Facebook and Personal Technology: What’s Next?
A troubling part of the conversation was Zuckerberg’s remarks about enterprise e-commerce systems and recommendation engines.
I found it disturbing because it sounded just like what Netscape did, which led to its demise. To develop enterprise software, a brand that enterprise buyers will accept is essential, and neither Facebook nor Meta have such a brand. The board of Meta includes at least one former Netscape employee, so I hope Zuckerberg does not repeat Netscape’s fatal flaw.
However, Facebook’s recommendation engine could dramatically improve how ads are presented and how users with similar interests are matched. Facebook would be returned to its roots as a tool for creating and maintaining friendships with this improvement.
In Conclusion
Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang’s conversation at Siggraph is well worth watching. Creating AI technology focuses on one, while using it focuses on the other, though they cross over. The result is that you will be able to comprehend the current state of technology and its future prospects.
A smartphone replacement that you wear like glasses spoke to the future of personal technology, while the discussion on AIs and recommendation engines clarified the future of Facebook, with the possibility that Meta might do the same as Netscape did.