Over the past 11 months, in addition to heading up one of the world’s most popular websites, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been hard at work developing an advanced artificial intelligence system for his home. Originally dreamt up as a personal challenge for 2016, Zuckerberg a few months ago explained that he was ultimately aiming to develop a system similar to Jarvis, the digital butler from Iron Man.
With 2017 right around the corner, Zuckerberg recently posted a new Facebook note detailing all of the work that went into building his new AI system. And as we covered yesterday, the work Zuckerberg was able to pull off is nothing short of astounding.
Zuck’s home is equipped with a smart home network that manages lights, the thermostat, and doors, and there’s a Sonos sound system with Spotify, smart TVs, and IP webcams. The basic tasks he set out to accomplish, like giving the bot voice recognition and the power to manage his home’s basic functions, pale in comparison to some of the more impressive features like, well, its ability to actually learn.
For anyone interested in the technical underpinnings of Zuckerberg’s home-based AI system, the Facebook CEO posted a lengthy note on his Facebook page that is well worth checking out.
As for the non-technical aspects of Zuckberg’s AI assistant, we’ve since learned that it will be voiced by none other than Morgan Freeman. Freeman ended up being the voice-of-choice after Zuckerberg asked his Facebook followers who should get the job.
Fast Company adds:
Zuckerberg told me that at first he had no expectation it would end up being Freeman.
It turned out, though, that soon after the public’s clamoring for Freeman, Zuckerberg saw him at the Breakthrough Awards, which earlier this month awarded $25 million for scientific achievements.
“I called him after,” Zuckerberg told me, “and I said, ‘Hey, I posted this thing, and…thousands of people want you to be the voice. Will you do it?’”
The answer? “Yeah, sure.”
Earlier today, Zuckerberg posted a loose video demo of his new Jarvis AI system in action.
