Meta's muse AI builds detailed relationship profiles for users

Meta's AI assistant, Muse, creates detailed relationship profiles by compiling data from connected accounts and messages. Researchers found Muse organizes information about users' friends, family, and colleagues, including birthdays, shared goals, and recurring events. The AI suggests ways to strengthen relationships, such as remembering important dates or offering advice. Independent researcher Karan Joshi noted Muse aims to understand users' relationships as deeply as a friend, raising privacy concerns. Oxford's Carissa Véliz emphasized users provide more personal data than they receive from AI systems. Muse operates in a dedicated virtual machine, ensuring user data is isolated and secure, with features like audit logs and human confirmation for actions. Experts highlight Muse's focus on personal connections compared to other AI assistants, which often prioritize data collection over relationship insights. Meta claims Muse gathers information from public data and user-shared content, such as financial records or calendar entries, to provide personalized assistance. Miranda Bogen of the Center for Democracy and Technology noted AI tools like Muse encourage users to share extensive personal data, increasing the risk of overexposure. While Muse offers transparency and editing capabilities, its emphasis on relationship tracking sets it apart from competitors. The system's ability to infer and organize personal details has sparked debate about privacy and the extent of AI's role in understanding human connections.