Can you forget how you feel about Meta?

In 2021, a whistleblower accused Facebook of endangering children's safety and mental health. CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the allegations, insisting that the company took the issue seriously and cared deeply about children's well-being. However, he acknowledged that the media had misrepresented Meta's efforts.

Zuckerberg spoke privately with the whistleblower, urging him to make child safety a central focus in Meta's messaging. Zuckerberg stated that he cared deeply about the issue but would not make it his primary focus while prioritizing other areas, such as developing the metaverse. He also encouraged his conversation partner to focus on the metaverse as the next major opportunity for the company.

Months later, Meta announced a name change to reflect its new priority: Metaverse. Years later, online safety concerns have escalated, while the metaverse has become a potential money pit. Despite the challenges, Meta continues to operate as a trillion-dollar empire, with products deeply ingrained in online activities.

Meta's products have come under scrutiny, facing lawsuits from regulators and backlash over ambitious projects like smart glasses, dubbed "pervert glasses." The company remains lagging in the AI race. Zuckerberg's personal reputation has suffered, but Meta remains profitable in the short term, thanks to its social media business and smart glasses division.

Meta's latest project, Muse, an AI-powered "personal AI agent," has shown promising early results, with over 600,000 daily active users in the US. However, the question remains: can a company with a history of safety and privacy issues become the AI-powered voice in everyone's ear through the metaverse?