Meta has launched Muse, the company’s first productivity AI assistant, marking a shift from entertainment to productivity. Operating on cloud virtual machines, Muse can connect to Gmail and Amazon and carry out numerous automated tasks.
What can Muse do?
Muse can efficiently delete thousands of promotional emails and unnecessary notifications in Gmail. The tool can also connect to Amazon to assist with shopping, plan travel, and perform various other tasks.
Meta stated that Muse only exchanges data with third-party applications when necessary to execute tasks, and does not share information with advertisers.
Privacy concerns
The most surprising aspect is the amount of personal information Muse automatically surfaces. While in use, Muse lists specific interests linked to the user’s Instagram account, even without being asked. This prompted a reporter from The Verge to describe the experience as “both useful and chilling.”
The concerns stem not only from Muse, but also from Meta itself. The company has been entangled in numerous privacy scandals: Cambridge Analytica in 2018, a data leak affecting 533 million users in 2021, and several lawsuits regarding hospital data collection. This history makes granting Muse access to email and shopping accounts a difficult decision.
Muse arrives as Meta races against OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Google (Gemini) on the productivity AI front. Previously, Meta prioritized AI for entertainment and social media. Muse is its first product aimed directly at the enterprise and consumer productivity markets.
Whether Meta can win over users largely hinges on whether they are willing to entrust their personal data to a company with a troubled security and privacy track record.