META CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG KICKS OFF DEVELOPER CONFERENCE WITH FOCUS ON AI VIRTUAL REALITY

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the tech giant’s Connect developer conference on Wednesday with a focus on virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence

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The company, which renamed itself Meta two years ago, unveiled the next version of its virtual reality headset, the Quest 3. It will cost $499 and begin shipping Oct. 10.

Standing in a courtyard at his company’s Menlo Park, California headquarters, Zuckerberg told the audience of developers, employees and journalists that Meta is “focused on building the future of human connection” — and painted a near-future where people interact with hologram versions of their friends or coworkers and with AI bots built to assist them.

“Soon the physical and digital will come together in what we call the metaverse,” he said.

Zuckerberg introduced an AI personal assistant people can interact with using any of Meta’s messaging apps — along with a smattering of AI characters he called “a bit more fun,” such as “Max the sous chef,” who can help come up with ideas for dinner, or Lily, a “personal editor and writing partner.”