Meta’s new AI agent Muse might come with a cutesy new mascot, but under its fuzzy exterior lies a vast surveillance network under the control of one of the world’s most powerful — and least accountable — tech companies.
The flashy new service has gained plenty of traction over the past few weeks, with many reviewers praising its utility in everyday life — as Eli Tan wrote for the New York Times, he was “blown away,” calling it the “most useful AI app I had ever used.”
But as researchers dig beyond the surface of Meta’s new AI offering, it’s becoming clear that Muse comes with a major drawback: users aren’t just signing their own privacy rights away, but those of their friends and family as well.
As Wired reports, the AI agent keeps detailed files on people on the periphery of its users’ lives, regularly scooping up new information about them. These updates are reportedly coming once an hour, with an internal instruction for Muse to maintain a “page for every person in the user’s life.”
