Meta

Zuckerberg says future AI glasses will give wearers a cognitive edge

Mark Zuckerberg framed smart glasses as the future of human–AI interaction during Meta’s Q2 2025 earnings call, saying anyone without such a device may be at a cognitive disadvantage compared to those using them.

He described the eyewear as the ideal way for AI to observe users visually and aurally, and to communicate information seamlessly during daily life.

Company leaders view smart eyewear such as Ray‑Ban Meta and Oakley Meta as early steps toward this vision, noting sales have more than tripled year-over-year.

Reality Labs, Meta’s AR/AI hardware unit, has accumulated nearly $70 billion in losses but continues investing in the form factor. Zuckerberg likened AI glasses to contact lenses for cognition, which is essential rather than optional.

While Meta remains committed to wearable AI, critics flag privacy and social risks around persistent camera-equipped glasses.

The strategy reflects a bet that wearable tech will reshape daily computing and usher in what Zuckerberg calls ‘personal superintelligence’.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Italy investigates Meta over AI integration in WhatsApp

Italy’s antitrust watchdog has investigated Meta Platforms over allegations that the company may have abused its dominant position by integrating its AI assistant directly into WhatsApp.

The Rome-based authority, formally known as the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), announced the probe on Wednesday, stating that Meta may have breached European Union competition regulations.

The regulator claims that the introduction of the Meta AI assistant into WhatsApp was carried out without obtaining prior user consent, potentially distorting market competition.

Meta AI, the company’s virtual assistant designed to provide chatbot-style responses and other generative AI functions, has been embedded in WhatsApp since March 2025. It is accessible through the app’s search bar and is intended to offer users conversational AI services directly within the messaging interface.

The AGCM is concerned that this integration may unfairly favour Meta’s AI services by leveraging the company’s dominant position in the messaging market. It warned that such a move could steer users toward Meta’s products, limit consumer choice, and disadvantage competing AI providers.

‘By pairing Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta appears to be able to steer its user base into the new market not through merit-based competition, but by ‘forcing’ users to accept the availability of two distinct services,’ the authority said.

It argued that this strategy may undermine rival offerings and entrench Meta’s position across adjacent digital services. In a statement, Meta confirmed cooperating fully with the Italian authorities.

The company defended the rollout of its AI features, stating that their inclusion in WhatsApp aimed to improve the user experience. ‘Offering free access to our AI features in WhatsApp gives millions of Italians the choice to use AI in a place they already know, trust and understand,’ a Meta spokesperson said via email.

The company maintains its approach, which benefits users by making advanced technology widely available through familiar platforms. The AGCM clarified that its inquiry is conducted in close cooperation with the European Commission’s relevant offices.

The cross-border collaboration reflects the growing scrutiny Meta faces from regulators across the EU over its market practices and the use of its extensive user base to promote new services.

If the authority finds Meta in breach of EU competition law, the company could face a fine of up to 10 percent of its global annual turnover. Under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, abusing a dominant market position is prohibited, particularly if it affects trade between member states or restricts competition.

To gather evidence, AGCM officials inspected the premises of Meta’s Italian subsidiary, accompanied by Guardia di Finanza, the tax police’s special antitrust unit in Italy.

The inspections were part of preliminary investigative steps to assess the impact of Meta AI’s deployment within WhatsApp. Regulators fear that embedding AI assistants into dominant platforms could lead to unfair advantages in emerging AI markets.

By relying on its established user base and platform integration, Meta may effectively foreclose competition by making alternative AI services harder to access or less visible to consumers. Such a case would not be the first time Meta has faced regulatory scrutiny in Europe.

The company has been the subject of multiple investigations across the EU concerning data protection, content moderation, advertising practices, and market dominance. The current probe adds to a growing list of regulatory pressures facing the tech giant as it expands its AI capabilities.

The AGCM’s investigation comes amid broader EU efforts to ensure fair competition in digital markets. With the Digital Markets Act and AI Act emerging, regulators are becoming more proactive in addressing potential risks associated with integrating advanced technologies into consumer platforms.

As the investigation continues, Meta’s use of AI within WhatsApp will remain under close watch. The outcome could set an essential precedent for how dominant tech firms can release AI products within widely used communication tools.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Ray-Ban Meta leads smart glasses market growth

Sales of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have more than tripled in the first half of 2025, cementing Meta’s dominance in the growing AI wearables market.

While Apple remains quiet on a possible launch of its own AI glasses, Meta and its partner EssilorLuxottica continue to expand their lead. The eyewear giant revealed a 200% rise in Ray-Ban Meta sales, with second-quarter revenue up by over 7% compared to last year.

Smart glasses still represent a small part of both companies’ revenue, yet expectations are rising fast. In June, the firms announced a new model – Oakley AI performance glasses – which they hope will match the success of the Ray-Ban line.

Francesco Milleri, EssilorLuxottica’s CEO, stated they expect a ‘very fast ramp-up’ of the Oakley Meta model.

Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses have been on the market for nearly two years, but recent updates have added live translation features and visual recognition that allows the glasses to interpret scenes in real time.

A version with an integrated display is rumoured to launch later in 2025, and Meta is also developing a high-end model called Orion.

Apple, meanwhile, appears more focused on mixed reality, with reports of a second-generation Vision Pro and Samsung’s Project Moohan, which may follow a similar route. But in the space of everyday wearable AI, Meta currently stands alone—at least until the competition decides to enter the arena.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Alibaba reveals Quark AI glasses to rival Meta and Xiaomi

Alibaba entered the wearable tech scene at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai by unveiling its first smart glasses, Quark AI Glasses, powered by its proprietary Qwen large language model and the Quark assistant.

The glasses are designed for professional and consumer use and feature hands-free calling, live transcription and translation, music playback, and a built-in camera.

The AR-type eyewear runs on a dual-chip platform, featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 and a dedicated low-power chip. It uses a hybrid operating system setup to balance interactivity and battery life.

Integration with Alibaba’s ecosystem lets users navigate via Amap’s near-eye maps, scan Taobao products for price comparison, make purchases via Alipay, and receive notifications from Ali platforms—all through voice and gesture commands.

Set for release in China by the end of 2025, Quark AI Glasses aim to compete directly with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart eyewear and Xiaomi’s AI glasses.

While product pricing and global availability remain unannounced, Alibaba’s ecosystem depth and hardware‑software integration signal a strategic push into wearable intelligence.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Meta forms AI powerhouse by appointing Shengjia Zhao as chief scientist

Meta has appointed former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao as Chief Scientist of its newly formed AI division, Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL).

Zhao, known for his pivotal role in developing ChatGPT, GPT-4, and OpenAI’s first reasoning model, o1, will lead MSL’s research agenda under Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI.

Mark Zuckerberg confirmed Zhao’s appointment, saying he had been leading scientific efforts from the start and co-founded the lab.

Meta has aggressively recruited top AI talent to build out MSL, including senior researchers from OpenAI, DeepMind, Apple, Anthropic, and its FAIR lab. Zhao’s presence helps balance the leadership team, as Wang lacks a formal research background.

Meta has reportedly offered massive compensation packages to lure experts, with Zuckerberg even contacting candidates personally and hosting them at his Lake Tahoe estate. MSL will focus on frontier AI, especially reasoning models, in which Meta currently trails competitors.

By 2026, MSL will gain access to Meta’s massive 1-gigawatt Prometheus cloud cluster in Ohio, designed to power large-scale AI training.

The investment and Meta’s parallel FAIR lab, led by Yann LeCun, signal the company’s multi-pronged strategy to catch up with OpenAI and Google in advanced AI research.

The collaboration dynamics between MSL, FAIR, and Meta’s generative AI unit remain unclear, but the company now boasts one of the strongest AI research teams in the industry.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Meta boosts teen safety as it removes hundreds of thousands of harmful accounts

Meta has rolled out new safety tools to protect teenagers on Instagram and Facebook, including alerts about suspicious messages and a one-tap option to block or report harmful accounts.

The company said it is increasing efforts to prevent inappropriate contact from adults and has removed over 635,000 accounts that sexualised or targeted children under 13.

Of those accounts, 135,000 were caught posting sexualised comments, while another 500,000 were flagged for inappropriate interactions.

Meta said teen users blocked over one million accounts and reported another million after receiving in-app warnings encouraging them to stay cautious in private messages.

The company also uses AI to detect users lying about their age on Instagram. If flagged, those accounts are automatically converted to teen accounts with stronger privacy settings and messaging restrictions. Since 2024, all teen accounts are set to private by default.

Meta’s move comes as it faces mounting legal pressure from dozens of US states accusing the company of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by designing addictive features on Instagram and Facebook. Critics argue that more must be done to ensure safety instead of relying on user action alone.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Meta tells Australia AI needs real user data to work

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has urged the Australian government to harmonise privacy regulations with international standards, warning that stricter local laws could hamper AI development. The comments came in Meta’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s review on harnessing digital technology, published this week.

Australia is undergoing its most significant privacy reform in decades. The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, passed in November and given royal assent in December, introduces stricter rules around handling personal and sensitive data. The rules are expected to take effect throughout 2024 and 2025.

Meta maintains that generative AI systems depend on access to large, diverse datasets and cannot rely on synthetic data alone. In its submission, the company argued that publicly available information, like legislative texts, fails to reflect the cultural and conversational richness found on its platforms.

Meta said its platforms capture the ways Australians express themselves, making them essential to training models that can understand local culture, slang, and online behaviour. It added that restricting access to such data would make AI systems less meaningful and effective.

The company has faced growing scrutiny over its data practices. In 2024, it confirmed using Australian Facebook data to train AI models, although users in the EU have the option to opt out—an option not extended to Australian users.

Pushback from regulators in Europe forced Meta to delay its plans for AI training in the EU and UK, though it resumed these efforts in 2025.

Australia’s Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has issued guidance on AI development and commercial deployment, highlighting growing concerns about transparency and accountability. Meta argues that diverging national rules create conflicting obligations, which could reduce the efficiency of building safe and age-appropriate digital products.

Critics claim Meta is prioritising profit over privacy, and insist that any use of personal data for AI should be based on informed consent and clearly demonstrated benefits. The regulatory debate is intensifying at a time when Australia’s outdated privacy laws are being modernised to protect users in the AI age.

The Productivity Commission’s review will shape how the country balances innovation with safeguards. As a key market for Meta, Australia’s decisions could influence regulatory thinking in other jurisdictions confronting similar challenges.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Italy challenges tech giants over VAT on user data

Meta, LinkedIn and X have filed appeals against a sweeping VAT claim by Italy, marking the first time the country has failed to settle such cases with major tech firms. Italy is demanding nearly €1 billion combined over the value of user data exchanged during free account registrations.

Italian authorities argue that providing platform access in exchange for personal data constitutes a taxable service, which if upheld, could have far-reaching implications across the EU. The case marks a significant legal shift as it challenges traditional definitions of taxable transactions in the digital economy.

Meta strongly disagreed with the concept, saying it should not be liable for VAT on free platform access. While LinkedIn offered no public comment, X did not respond to media inquiries.

Italy is now preparing to refer the issue to the EU Commission’s VAT Committee for advisory input. Though the committee’s opinion will not be binding, a rejection could derail Italy’s efforts and lead to a withdrawal of the tax claims.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Meta pushes back on EU AI framework

Meta has refused to endorse the European Union’s new voluntary Code of Practice for general-purpose AI, citing legal overreach and risks to innovation.

The company warns that the framework could slow development and deter investment by imposing expectations beyond upcoming AI laws.

In a LinkedIn post, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, called the code confusing and burdensome, criticising its requirements for reporting, risk assessments and data transparency.

He argued that such rules could limit the open release of AI models and harm Europe’s competitiveness in the field.

The code, published by the European Commission, is intended to help companies prepare for the binding AI Act, set to take effect from August 2025. It encourages firms to adopt best practices on safety and ethics while building and deploying general-purpose AI systems.

While firms like Microsoft are expected to sign on, Meta’s refusal could influence other developers to resist what they view as Brussels overstepping. The move highlights ongoing friction between Big Tech and regulators as global efforts to govern AI rapidly evolve.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Meta CEO unveils plan to spend hundreds of billions on AI data centres

Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to build a network of massive data centres focused on superintelligent AI. The initiative forms part of Meta’s wider push to lead the race in developing machines capable of outperforming humans in complex tasks.

The first of these centres, called Prometheus, is set to launch in 2026. Another facility, Hyperion, is expected to scale up to 5 gigawatts. Zuckerberg said the company is building several more AI ‘titan clusters’, each one covering an area comparable to a significant part of Manhattan.

He also cited Meta’s strong advertising revenue as the reason it can afford such bold spending despite investor concerns.

Meta recently regrouped its AI projects under a new division, Superintelligence Labs, following internal setbacks and high-profile staff departures.

The company hopes the division will generate fresh revenue streams through Meta AI tools, video ad generators, and wearable smart devices. It is reportedly considering dropping its most powerful open-source model, Behemoth, in favour of a closed alternative.

The firm has increased its 2025 capital expenditure to up to $72 billion and is actively hiring top talent, including former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and ex-GitHub chief Nat Friedman.

Analysts say Meta’s AI investments are paying off in advertising but warn that the real return on long-term AI dominance will take time to emerge.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!