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Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang says he was distracted by meme ideas during meetings: 'I have to get this out'
Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang revealed that he was distracted during company meetings by ideas for memes promoting Muse.
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Meta's chief AI officer Alexandr Wang has revealed that ideas for social media memes sometimes distracted him during company meetings as he tried to generate interest in the technology giant's new artificial intelligence assistant, Muse.
(Also read: Who is Alexandr Wang? Billionaire AI chief at Meta urges teens to spend all their time on this activity)
The 29-year-old, who has drawn attention for his unconventional posts on X, spoke about his approach during an interview with podcaster David Senra released on October 11. Wang said his posts were not simply jokes but part of an effort to get people talking about Meta's latest product.
Memes on his mind during meetings
Wang recalled finding it difficult to concentrate whenever an idea for a new meme occurred to him. At such moments, he would think, "Oh God, I have to get this out," and feel compelled to publish it.
He also described interrupting a dinner with a colleague after coming up with another post. His colleagues were "somewhat surprised" by the attention his online activity generated, he said.
Speaking about whether the posts had helped Muse attract users, Wang said, "It actually made an impact on growth," describing the result as something "which is kind of hilarious."
However, he acknowledged that it was difficult to establish exactly how much the memes had contributed to the app's growth.
Why Wang turned to memes
Wang explained that Meta wanted its AI assistant to stand out in a crowded market where users are constantly presented with new models, apps and features. The company already had a huge audience through Facebook and Instagram, but he believed it needed a way to make Muse part of online conversations.
His aim, he said, was to make Meta seem interesting and culturally relevant again. What began with sharing examples of how people were using Muse gradually developed into a stream of more spontaneous, sometimes provocative posts.
Meta launched Muse on September 8. According to the company, the assistant can carry out tasks such as booking travel, sending emails and managing activities across connected apps.
(Also read: Meta’s star AI hire Alexandr Wang finds Mark Zuckerberg's management style ‘suffocating’: report)
Who is Alexandr Wang?
Wang co-founded Scale AI in 2016, a data labelling company for training artificial intelligence, after dropping out of MIT in his first year. He went on to lead the company for nearly a decade, building a net worth now estimated at $3.2 billion, according to Forbes.
