Mark Zuckerberg reportedly working on AI clone of himself — Meta insiders claim 3D photoreal animated Zuck will be able to engage with employees on his behalf

Zuckerberg avatar
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The very top job at Meta may periodically be delegated to an AI replica of Mark Zuckerberg. Will anyone notice? The FT reports that Meta is developing 3D, photoreal, AI-powered characters that users can interact with in real time – and the project has recently pivoted to prioritize an AI clone of the company CEO, according to three unnamed insiders.

Meta wishes to ‘dogfood’ its AI wares to gain a competitive advantage, and it shows confidence that this thrust extends to the very top echelons of the company.

Making an AI-generated Zuck clone is something of a pivot, as we mentioned in the intro. The FT says that Meta was busy with a project in which it was building a ‘CEO agent’ to support top execs like Zuckerberg day-to-day. However, this CEO-cloning project is separate and has become a priority, according to the report. Perhaps the boss wants to go on an extended holiday soon?

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The training of the now-prioritized Zuckerberg AI character has been shepherded by the Meta CEO. “The Meta chief is personally involved in training and testing his animated AI,” reports the FT. And the character “could offer conversation and feedback to employees, according to one person.”

As well as looking like the real Zuck, thanks to the 3D, photoreal, animated character that has been created, much deeper work is being done. The source report notes that the Zuck AI has been trained on his publicly available statements, his recent thinking on business strategy, and so on. That should provide a solid foundation for day-to-day Zuck-a-like reasoning. But the clone even replicates Zuckerberg’s mannerisms and tone, and will respond in the CEO’s voice, it is claimed.

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Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

  • Notton
    Well... Off the top of my head...
    Can't spell alien without ai
    ditto lizard or reptilian
    he even admits he's not human.
    This video was before the advent of ai deepfakes.
    2qGVVxaosDM
    Reply
  • usertests
    The company that blew $88 billion on off-brand VRChat (I'm sure the accountants lessened the impact) pivots to other out-of-touch and annoying trash.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    Max head(room)berg
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Notton said:
    Can't spell alien without ai
    ditto lizard or reptilian
    he even admits he's not human.
    I'm no fan of Zuckerberg, myself, but I think it's not good to spread dehumanizing claims about anyone, even in jest. Dehumanizing rhetoric has been a favorite tactic of populists and demagogues, throughout history. The first step of persecution is dehumanization.

    As for Zuckerbot, I think it's pretty much the epitome of hubris to think that what the world needs is a 24/7 always- available version of you that it can turn to, for a dose of your unique wisdom.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    usertests said:
    The company that blew $88 billion on off-brand VRChatI was skeptical of their big VR bet, but sometimes companies have so much money that it's worth staking a bit of it on a bet like that. If they had been right that VR was the next big thing, rather than AI, that lead would've provided a good return on investment.

    I also think it wasn't entirely wasted money. I just wish it had been spread a bit more broadly, throughout the VR ecosystem, rather than focusing so much on their own platform.
    Reply
  • btmedic04
    I love that my electricity bill increased for this.... said no one ever.
    Reply
  • psyconz
    Yet another expensive ego flourish by a supposedly intelligent person
    Reply
  • thesyndrome
    For any Warhammer 40k fans out there: Is anyone else getting Cawl Inferior vibes? 😅

    https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Cawl_Inferior
    The Cawl Inferiors are machines that imitate a limited simulacrum of Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl.
    The Cawl Inferior is primarily programmed to emulate the voice and mannerisms of its creator: Belisarius Cawl.

    The funny part is that this is considered disgusting and uncanny by anyone who interacts with it within the context of the story, which is what I bet the reactions of the Meta staff will be if they are forced to interact with it.
    Reply
  • tamalero
    Creating a clone of a sociopath billionaire who wants to control everything..

    what can go wrong.. right?

    Before, people dying saved us from many sociopath and psychopathic leaders.
    but a digital version?

    yeah no....
    Reply
  • Notton
    bit_user said:
    I'm no fan of Zuckerberg, myself, but I think it's not good to spread dehumanizing claims about anyone, even in jest. Dehumanizing rhetoric has been a favorite tactic of populists and demagogues, throughout history. The first step of persecution is dehumanization.

    As for Zuckerbot, I think it's pretty much the epitome of hubris to think that what the world needs is a 24/7 always- available version of you that it can turn to, for a dose of your unique wisdom.
    You should look up the difference between punching down vs. up when jokes are made.
    And then you should go look up if billionaires are a marginalized minority group.
    Reply