Sam Altman and Elon Musk are not merely rivals in the artificial intelligence sector; both are vying to create a comprehensive super app that integrates finance, social media, gaming, and more within Silicon Valley.
This week, I observed Altman unveil his vision from an expansive venue in San Francisco. He appeared not as the CEO of OpenAI, but as the co-founder and chairman of Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency now available in the United States. Worldcoin is distributed via eye scans at kiosks—dubbed orbs—set to appear in retail locations nationwide. Concurrently, the token is being utilized to develop a super app aimed at competing with X.
The World app by Tools for Humanity serves as a crypto wallet, social platform, and mini-app ecosystem. Over the last six months, its user base has surged to 26 million, with 12 million individuals verified through orb scans. Within the app, users can communicate through a chat interface linked to World IDs, a blockchain-based identity achieved after eye scanning, as well as facilitate cryptocurrency transactions. The platform offers numerous mini apps from various developers, including Kalshi, allowing in-app transactions using Worldcoin.
Musk’s objective for X aligns with establishing a nexus for financial transactions and social interactions, with plans to introduce Venmo-like features in collaboration with Visa later this year. This week, Tools for Humanity also revealed a partnership with Visa to launch a US debit card this summer, enabling Worldcoin transactions while providing rewards for AI-related subscriptions.
In efforts to combat automated bots, Tools for Humanity aims to verify human identity, addressing a concern Musk expressed when he acquired Twitter. During the event, Altman reflected on a stroll he shared with co-founder Alex Blania through San Francisco five years ago, prior to the advent of ChatGPT.
“We recognized the necessity for a solution that could authenticate humans in an era dominated by AGI,” he noted. “Our goal was to ensure that humanity remained a vital component in a digital landscape increasingly filled with AI-generated content.”
During a press Q&A following his keynote, Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania pointed out X as a platform they aspire to enhance through World ID verification, a service they plan to monetarily charge developers for in the future. He commented on the evolution of bots on X, acknowledging that while they used to be easily identifiable as scams, the current state is less obvious.
Several leaders from OpenAI attended this week’s event, and speculation arose about a potential partnership for OpenAI’s upcoming social network. In a follow-up question, I inquired whether Blania would be interested in collaborating with OpenAI. He expressed openness to the idea and suggested that further developments are on the horizon. My attempt to engage Altman on this topic was thwarted as he exited shortly after his speech.
Meta’s AI App Strategy
During the same week, I attended Meta’s inaugural AI developer event, LlamaCon, held at its Menlo Park headquarters. Coinciding with this was the release of the standalone Meta AI app featuring a social feed for users to share their interactions with the assistant. Plans aim to introduce a premium tier and advertising in the future.
Following his keynote address at LlamaCon, I spoke with Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, about the rationale behind creating a standalone Meta AI app, the selected social aspects, and what differentiates this app from others.
The following conversation has been condensed for clarity:
What is the primary objective of launching the standalone Meta AI app?
Nearly a billion users engage with Meta AI. The app caters to both casual users and dedicated communities engaging heavily with its features. We aim to provide both a light and a deep experience.
Will this affect Meta AI’s integration within Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp?
We intend to maintain current integration. Certain functionalities are beneficial within other apps. Many users effectively utilize it for searches related to specific memes or content, so those integrations will remain.
How does Meta AI compare to other assistants like ChatGPT?
One of our advantages lies in voice performance, personalization, social features, and hardware integration. Our focus on minimizing latency while enhancing expressiveness has enabled richer conversations.
Additionally, the app retains memory of previous interactions and can utilize data from linked Facebook and Instagram accounts to better grasp users’ specific interests. This level of personalization allows for more nuanced responses and creates a more compelling user experience compared to others.
The social aspects are also engaging, with many users creating visual commentary akin to political cartoons regarding current events. We found that users often need guidance on AI functionalities, and the community-driven exploration fosters discovery.
Will the Meta AI Discover feed evolve into a standalone social network?
We intend to expand on this feature as we observe initial AI creators engaging with it. A dedicated space for creativity decreases pressure to perform, encouraging users to share their AI-generated content freely.
Could the app boost sales of Meta’s Ray-Ban products?
It’s possible that seeing Ray-Bans used within the app could ignite interest in the product, offering a more organic appeal than traditional marketing methods.
What insights were gained from the Llama 4 benchmark incident?
The key takeaway from benchmarks is the importance of focusing on metrics that genuinely reflect product efficacy. Clarity on what matters for the product is paramount, and this challenges every organization to discern essential evaluations.
Link List
Additional resources:
- “Cook chose poorly:” How Apple lost control over its App Store.
- OpenAI’s detailed analysis of issues with its “sycophantic” ChatGPT modifications.
- Duolingo’s internal guidance on becoming “AI-first.”
- Granola’s new iOS application launch.
- An oral history detailing the transformative impact of the transformer architecture on the AI field.
- The “leaderboard illusion” concerning AI models.
- Mark Zuckerberg’s discussion with Ben Thompson.
- Tim Sweeney’s conversation with Lex Fridman.
- Ashlee Vance interviews an individual who received a Neuralink implant.
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