Meta's Muse Is Better at Surveilling Than Helping Me
The Muse app continues Meta’s trend of opting users into data collection for AI training. It also nudges you to share your bank account, email, and passport information.
Meta's new AI agent, Muse, is more focused on gathering personal data than it is on assisting users with their everyday tasks. This AI tool is designed to help users manage their inbox, book reservations, and find deals, but in practice, Muse seems to be more of a data collector than a helpful assistant. The app, which has already been downloaded over 900,000 times in its first week, can browse the web on your behalf and complete tasks, such as ordering breakfast from a local bakery.
However, Muse's ability to collect data appears to be its primary function. Users are encouraged to connect various data sources, like their email and bank account, to Muse, and the AI agent then stores this information in a "Memory" document. While users can manually edit the memory file, Meta does not currently offer a toggle to turn off the memory feature entirely.
This constant data collection may lead to an uneasy feeling that every interaction with Muse is an invitation for Meta to gather even more information about the user. Consumer advocates have criticized Meta for forcing users to opt out of AI data training, citing Meta's history of questionable data practices.
Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
