Technology

Meta tests human concierge for AI assistant Muse

Reuters · 4 days ago · Read the Full Story on Reuters
Meta tests human concierge for AI assistant Muse
AI SUMMARY

Meta has temporarily paused a test using human contractors to handle phone calls for its new personal AI assistant, Muse, following employee privacy concerns.

  • Meta tested having human contractors quietly handle phone calls placed through its new personal AI assistant, Muse.
  • The phone-calling feature is designed to let users have the AI book appointments, check stock, or get quotes from US businesses.
  • Internal company posts revealed employee privacy concerns about sensitive information being leaked to human call center workers.
  • One employee reported that a transcript showed a human contractor making a racist reference while negotiating a cable bill.
  • A Meta vice president acknowledged it was a mistake to test contractor-placed calls without proper disclosures and rolled back the feature.
  • Meta stated human-assisted calls increased success rates to the 95% to 98% range compared to purely AI-driven calls.
  • The Muse app has surpassed 2.5 million downloads since its release, contributing to a more than 20% surge in Meta's stock.
  • Meta previously ran a similar human-backed digital assistant experiment called 'M' in Messenger a decade ago.