The measure of a credible spokesperson

Mark Zuckerberg is not a credible spokesperson for glorifying the wonders of AI. Not when history paints him as an unreliable narrator.

As OpenAI and Anthropic justifiably warn about AI dangers, Zuck has been on a one man "AI positivity" media blitz this week in July:

➡️ A Wall Street Journal opinion piece "The AI Future Is For Everyone" which includes the usual social media billionaire trope: "Putting power in people’s hands to pursue their own aspirations is how humanity has made the most progress."

➡️ Interviews with both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, where he bashed too much AI "doomism," and suggested AI's benefits "should empirically be the default assumption of how this is going to play out."

➡️ A rosy 1-minute video across Meta properties echoing that they "always believed in giving people the power to share, connect, and shape your world in the ways you want."

Where have I heard this hype before?

Oh, yeah. The metaverse.

During the Q3 2022 earnings call, he said of the metaverse: "I think that our work here is going to be of historic importance."

He told podcaster Lex Fridman "this is going to be by far the most human and social computing platform that ever existed." 

Eventually, Meta's Reality Labs division lost about $87 billion from 2020 to 2025 until it was redirected to smart glasses and headsets last December. 

Now, most of Meta's eggs are being throw into the AI basket.

By coincidental timing, the current Zuck "AI sunshine and lollipops" tour happened just as Meta reported Q2 diluted EPS of $6.18, falling substantially below consensus estimates of $7.22. Net profit fell 14% YoY. 

Investors are freaked out about the sheer scale of money required to build AI infrastructure, which swallowed nearly all of the company's operating cash flow. 

Meta's stock fell between 4.2% and 10% in post-market trading.

Toss in the countless legal cases and Congressional hearings about the manipulative Facebook and Instagram algorithms, and you have every right to question "the power" they have given people.

Look -- no media outlet is going to turn down an interview or opinion piece with Mark Zuckerberg. He's the 6th richest man on the planet.

But if you are going to take a stand on the beautiful and wonderful future of ANYTHING -- Zuckerberg or not -- you have to be believable with a track record to back it up.

Unfortunately, in this case, the emperor has no clothes.