Meta Launches Muse, an AI Assistant Seen as Intrusive

Meta's new AI assistant, Muse, performs concrete tasks such as cleaning up emails and making online purchases. However, its use of data from account APIs and order information reveals a very detailed profiling, beyond what the user sees, which fuels distrust.

Muse Leverages Order Data and Account APIs

Muse's news feed has integrated articles related to the user's presence status after admitting to using the delivery address from a recent order. The assistant also compiled a list of very specific interests based on the Instagram and Facebook accounts used for login. Among these interests were anime, CrossFit, Labrador retrievers, Florida wildlife, and 90s/2000s nostalgia. When asked about the source of these elements, Muse explained that it had read this information through the Instagram account API data, which would reveal more than the visible interface. It added that the "advertising topics" section is the closest reference accessible in the app and that some can be extracted from it. However, a check of this section showed general categories, less detailed than the list provided by the assistant. The granularity of the data used, including sources not accessible to the user, has raised concerns about entrusting Muse with sorting personal emails or managing a credit card, a distrust presented as a major obstacle for Meta.

Meta Promises Limited Data Sharing and No Advertising

Meta states that Muse only shares with third-party applications the data necessary to perform tasks for the user and claims not to transmit information to advertisers. When asked specific questions about Muse's access to internal data from Instagram and Facebook, no immediate response was provided.

Productive Functions Validated on Emails and E-commerce

Muse executes its actions via a virtual computer in the cloud. To clean a Gmail inbox, it required a connection to the Google account and permissions for access, reading, and deleting messages. The process encountered malfunctions on mobile before succeeding on a computer, where the assistant deleted thousands of promotional messages and updates. On the online shopping side, after linking an Amazon account, Muse selected tank tops based on provided criteria, detected old items in the cart, and asked for confirmation to remove them, then purchased only the targeted products. In these low-stakes tasks, the assistant proved effective and lived up to its promise of automating routines.

Content Generation: Extended Possibilities and Variable Safeguards

Muse offers the creation of AI podcasts similar to the use of Gemini Notebook, image and video generation, as well as the production of web pages or interactive documents, called artifacts. The assistant declined certain requests for images of cartoon characters but quickly produced a video and several visuals for a product launch featuring devices marked with an Apple logo. One image showed a foldable smartphone resembling an iPhone, a watch, and headphones on stands, with a presenter in front of an apple-themed background, while displaying incorrect app labels. However, Muse refused to create an image of an Apple CEO. Its Feed tab generates a news feed from a default text prompt aimed at clear, quick content without sensationalist hooks, and returned summaries on various topics, including an "iPhone Duo" event, dangerous waves in California, and oil tankers destroyed in the Iran war. Meanwhile, the tool continuously offers personalized ideas, such as product comparisons, cancellation of forgotten subscriptions, or tracking Pokémon card releases, and maintains a list of goals to accomplish based on exchanges.