{
  "id": 17428921,
  "title": "I built an AI Tamagotchi before Meta could",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/i-built-an-ai-tamagotchi-before-meta-could",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-31T16:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Verge",
    "slug": "the-verge",
    "url": "https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/1013375/muse-charm-gadgets-preview-waveshare-esp32-claude-vibe-code"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mark Zuckerberg's Meta made AI seem adorable with its cute little faces and now wants to sell a Muse Charm this holiday season, a device resembling the classic Tamagotchi toy. However, the author of this report decided against buying one, as they already have a Muse Charm at home that they built themselves for just $50.\n\nTheir creation, while simpler than Meta's, still boasts features such as talking to Muse, cute avatars, acting as a pocket watch, and a remote camera viewfinder. It can potentially control the author's smart home as well, provided the user injects extra code.\n\nThe author obtained a 1.75-inch touchscreen computer pendant from China, specifically the Waveshare ESP32-S3 1.75C, for $50. This device, approved by Meta, serves as one of the company's initial suggestions for building a \"Muse Gadget,\" a device that connects directly to Meta's Muse AI cloud using open-source code and tokens.\n\nUpon receiving the pendant, the author found it somewhat useless initially. Setting it up required plugging it into their PC, pointing Claude (an AI coding assistant) at Meta's GitHub, and pairing it to the Muse phone app. However, Muse initially struggled to understand the author's commands and had a slow response time. Despite these issues, the author successfully improved Muse's functionality using Claude's assistance.\n\nClaude's help included creating a conversation history page, adding a British AI voice to speak responses out loud, building a camera preview over Bluetooth, and generating different avatars with behaviors like hunger, boredom, and dirtiness. The author even managed to create a pocket watch face with three hands that tells the time and loaded video clips of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg introducing the Muse Charm onto the Waveshare.\n\nWhile the author acknowledges their lack of coding experience, they believe building the Muse Charm demonstrated the potential of the device and that it may not be solely worth purchasing for its built-in features.",
  "summary": "Mark Zuckerberg's Meta made AI look so stinking cute by giving it a squishy little face - and this holiday season, he wants to sell you a Muse Charm so you can carry your jolly AI helper around like a Tamagotchi. But I won't be buying one, because we have Muse Charm at home. It […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Mark Zuckerberg's Meta created Muse Charm resembling Tamagotchi toy.",
    "Author built Muse Charm at home for $50 using Waveshare ESP32-S3 pendant.",
    "Author improved Muse's functionality with AI coding assistant Claude."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}