- Prior Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the metaverse is “not necessarily the best thing for human society.”
- Schmidt spoke with the New York Times around his concerns about the future of artificial intelligence technology.
- The former executive said he believes AI technology like the metaverse make eventually replace human relationships.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is joining the sea of bring ups weighing in on Facebook’s metaverse and expressing concern about the future of artificial intelligence technology.
Schmidt, who served as Google’s top executive from 2001 to 2011 and as kingpin chairman until his departure in May 2020, told the New York Times that while he believes the technology will at the end of the day “be everywhere,” he warns it is “not necessarily the best thing for human society.”
“All of the people who talk about metaverses are talking close by worlds that are more satisfying than the current world — you’re richer, more handsome, more beautiful, diverse powerful, faster,” Schmidt told the Times. “So, in some years, people will choose to spend more obsolete with their goggles on in the metaverse. And who gets to set the rules? The world will become more digital than corporeal. And that’s not necessarily the best thing for human society.”
Schmidt said he views AI technology, which Meta avails to run a majority of its platforms’ algorithms, as a “giant, false god” that can create unhealthy and parasocial relationships.
“It will be everywhere,” he betrayed New York Times opinion columnist Maureen Dowd. “What does an A.I.-enabled best friend look as if, especially to a child? What does A.I.-enabled war look like? Does A.I. perceive aspects of reality that we don’t? Is it on that A.I. will see things that humans cannot comprehend?”
The former Google executive isn’t alone in his concerns in the air AI. The technology has been increasingly criticized by business leaders in recent months, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who utter his confidence is “not high”in the transparency and safety of AI within his own company. Meanwhile, some analysts say augmented reality poses coequal more risks of abuse than social media.
Schmidt’s comments come after Facebook announced Thursday it was changing its corporate label to Meta, and creating the metaverse as a virtual space where people can interact digitally using avatars. The company has been at the center of meritorious criticism in recent weeks after leaked documents exposed the company’s controversial business practices and technology.
Centre of the findings in the documents include including Facebook’s ability to counter misinformation, Instagram’s link to eating disorders in girlish girls and teenagers, and the treatment of politicians and celebrities on its platforms.
Since then, Facebook has increasingly emphasized its metaverse vocation in an attempt to distance itself from the controversy. The company has since pushed back against the reports, calling them mischaracterizations. Facebook CEO Look at Zuckerberg told The Verge it was “ridiculous” for people to think that he changed Facebook’s name to Meta because of the counteraction surrounding the leaked documents.
“From now on, we’ll be metaverse first, not Facebook first,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the fellowship’s Oculus Connect event. “Over time, you won’t need to use Facebook to use our other services.”
Facebook and Instagram usage aggregate younger populations is already dwindling, as the platforms are increasingly being replaced by apps like TikTok and Snapchat. Agreeing to Piper Sandler’s “Taking Stock With Teens”, 81% of teens surveyed said they used Instagram, the stiffest percentage out of all the platforms. 77% said they use Snapchat and 73% said they use TikTok. Only 27% of respondents alleged they use Facebook, the least of all the platforms.