Facebook M is a Text-based AI - Why Facebook OS smartphone may be in the works

The machines are slowly taking over, it would appear.

Facebook had joined the foray into AI Voice Assistant world on Wednesday August 26th 2015 with their own version called M as reported in the article “Facebook adds Siri rival to Messenger”, published August 26, 2015, by Ian Sherr, CNET News. 

Facebook broke the news in a Facebook post by Facebook Messenger lead manager David Marcus as reported in the article “Facebook Is Adding A Personal Assistant Called “M” To Your Messenger App”, published Aug 26, 2015 by Drew Olanoff, Techcrunch.   

Facebook has now joined the ranks of Google Now, Microsoft Cortana and Apple Siri as yet another Voice Assistant in a field that’s slowly crowding up with these helpful AI as pointed out in the article “Facebook launches M, its bold answer to Siri and Cortana”, published 08.26.15 by Jessi Hempel, Wired.

These AI's make owning a smartphone more like having a personal friend that can talk with you and laugh at your jokes while helping you navigate these increasingly complex smartphones.

Possibly, she can also form conversations and even tell stories like similar to Georgia Institute of Technology's Scheherazade AI as reported in my blog article entitled “Scheherazade AI from Georgia Institute of Technology - Why Writers and Journalists will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence and Robots”.

Bu what makes Facebook M special?

Facebook M is a Text-based AI– Top down design with Human handlers

Facebook M is unique, though, in that its conversations are text-initiated by typing queries in Facebook Messenger as reported in the article “Facebook launches M: Not James Bond’s boss, but a Siri-like virtual Assistant with a huge twist”, published Aug 27, 2015 By Chris Smith, BGR. 

However, it has human handlers who will every now and then help M with more complex queries and thereby improve the AI’s capability to answer more complex queries. After this hand-holding period, M will be on its own, suggesting that M is a top-down design AI i.e. built to tap into all the information needed with  set of basic Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language API while being guided by humans. 

 

This was launched nearly a month ago and this privilege up to the time of the publication of my article is restricted to a few hundred people in the San Francisco Bay Area. When does Facebook plan to release this feature to the American public as well as to us Internationals?

Facebook M is a Text-based AI - Why Facebook OS smartphone may be in the works

This is possibly a very nice idea, almost as nice as making Facebook Messenger available on Desktop as reported in my Geezam blog article entitled “Now Facebook has a Messenger website for your Desktop”. Yet this is strictly a Mobile experiment, as it’s not yet on Facebook Messenger for desktop or integrated into any other Facebook Apps or the main website!

It also doesn't tap into all of Facebook's Social Graph, just Messenger for Mobile as reported in the article “Facebook 'M' makes Messenger your personal Assistant”, published August 26th 2015 by Jon Fingas, Engadget. 

Still, I'm hoping that this means that Facebook plans to make a smartphone sometime down the road, as when Facebook M expands and leverages the power of the Social Graph, they can potential do much more.

Like answer Voicemails, as feature alledgedly coming to Apple iOS 10 thanks to IBM Watson in 2016 as predicted in my blog article entitled “Apple's Siri Voice Assistant to answer Calls in 2016 - How @IBM's Watson may power Siri AI in Corporate and Enterprise Cloud Heaven”. 

Hopefully, when it comes to all Facebook's platforms, be it Mobile apps or desktop browser interface, it'll also include Facebook Hello, the smartphone home screen that already parses your calls and allows you to match numbers to Facebook profiles as I'd argued in my blog article entitled “Introducing @Facebook Hello App - Brilliant Anonymous Caller ID People and Businesses Finder with @WhatsApp Wi-Fi Calling”.   

Then my prediction that Facebook may be planning to make a smartphone running a Facebook OS may finally come to fruition.

Here’s the link:

Facebook post by Facebook Messenger lead manager David Marcus