Facebook is working on an AI voice assistant similar to Alexa, Google Assistant

According to a CNBC report and a subsequent statement from a Facebook representative, Facebook is working on the development of a voice assistant for the AI ​​of a feature similar to Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri's .

The CNBC report, which quotes "several people familiar with the subject," indicates that the project has been underway since early 2018 in the company's offices in Redmond, Washington State. The company is headed by Ira Snyder, whose title on LinkedIn is "Director, Research / Response Assistant and Facebook on Facebook". Facebook Assistant can be the name of the project. CNBC writes that Facebook has contacted supply chain suppliers of smart speakers, suggesting that Portal could be only the first of many smart devices manufactured by the company.

When contacted for comment, Facebook sent a statement to Reuters, The Verge and others, stating, "We are working on the development of voice assistant and AI technologies that can be applied to our range of AR / VR products, including Portal, Oculus and future products. "

Portal is an email-based smart display product that was launched in November of last year. Currently, it includes Amazon Alexa instead of a voice assistant developed by Facebook. The price of the product has recently been reduced from $ 199 to $ 99.

Facebook has previously experimented with artificial intelligence integrations and robots within its Messenger service, including a virtual chat assistant. But this new project seems to be focused on device interfaces such as the portal and the Oculus Rift VR headset.

The revelation that Facebook is working on an assistant like this has sparked the concern of privacy hawks, as such devices can often be on the lookout for the households in which they were installed . The company has a dismal record of user privacy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced plans to reorganize much of his business.

There is no reason to assume at this point that Facebook will seek to compete with Alexa or Google Assistant by offering its own assistant to third parties for use with their devices. But the company's poor record of protecting privacy will be a concern if it continues on this path.