Brain, education, virtual reality … Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg talks in an interview with Poen magazine about how he sees his ideal world. He claims that the era of virtual reality will soon come, when everyone will have equal opportunities regardless of where they live.
Do you think that augmented reality and virtual reality will change human perception?
Mark Zuckerberg: I have always attached great importance to the intersection of technology and how people interact with each other. When I was at Harvard, albeit for a short time (smiles), I studied psychology. In psychology, I have always been interested in how the cerebral cortex functions in communication with others. In humans, a whole part of the brain is devoted to language. The visual cortex focuses primarily on reading emotions and connections between people. If your eyebrow moves even a millimeter, I immediately see it, as if I am defining a new emotion. If my breathing rhythm changes, you will immediately notice it. In addition, there are mirror neurons that create empathy by taking an interest in what is happening to the people around us. We are created to interact with our environment. However, modern technology works differently. It relies on our smartphone and is organized mainly around applications and tasks performed by the smartphone. This is what I want to improve.
Why Facebook can change the situation in this area? Other companies also have big plans, for example, the American Magic Leap and the Chinese Nreal
“Facebook’s mission is to give people a voice, give everyone the opportunity to start communities and bring people closer together. Our goal is to create technology that can respond to these needs. Until recently, we did this using the world's most popular applications (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram). But what do these apps have in common? They bring people together. It's time to move on to a new stage.
I.e?
- Every 15 years, a new way of using computer science emerges. Think back to the rise of personal computers that ran primarily on Windows. Then came the time of navigators, from which it was possible to access the Internet through a laptop. Now the Internet is available on mobile phones. The era of augmented and virtual reality is coming soon. A distinctive feature of these technologies is that they allow you to be in a certain place and interact with the environment. When you sit next to someone who has buried their nose in a smartphone, you do not feel their presence. With the help of augmented and virtual reality, you can interact with your loved ones.
You recently announced the purchase of CTRL-Labs, a New York-based company that has created a bracelet that can interpret brain signals
Promotional video:
“This will allow more information to be processed naturally. Our brains can produce terabits of data per second, which is the equivalent of 40 ultra-high-definition movies. The goal is to create a platform that allows the person to express themselves in a more flexible way.
“One of the problems in our fragmented world is growing inequality. This is perfectly reflected in the book by a Princeton University specialist, The Poor's Portfolio: How the World's Poor Live on $ 2 a Day. Can technology make a difference?
- One of the main problems of our world is the equal distribution of talents, but not opportunities. In addition, there are inequalities between urban and rural residents. In most countries, you have to move to a big city to find a good job, which creates real estate problems. So, of course, we will be thinking about innovative modes of transport, but at the moment "bits" are moving faster than "atoms" (an allusion to the book "Digital Being" by Nicholas Negroponte of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology draws a line between computer science, bits, and physics, atoms, editor's note). Economically, you can work wherever you want, and helmets like the Oculus Quest we are developing will allow you to teleport. This is what the world I want to live in looks like, the worldwhere each of us has equal opportunities regardless of where we live.
Big tech companies are accused of having too much power. It is said that you are doing too little to combat hate, video manipulation, and foreign election interference. Do you think there are grounds for these fears?
- I believe that we have already moved away from a number of these problems. In many, we have come a long way forward. Nevertheless, it will take some time for a wide audience to begin to trust us again. I think this is fair. We understand that we have a huge responsibility. We create actively used services and want to make sure that we do our job well. Be that as it may, I realized that we need to take responsibility on many topics. I hope that in five years, people will be able to say that we have cleared the way and were able to move forward to resolve these issues.
Two years ago, you took a summer vacation in Alaska, where you advocated a total unconditional income that should allow everyone to live in the era of artificial intelligence and help create new jobs for those who need it. What should be instilled in children today?
- Curiosity. Because the world is changing very quickly, and new things appear endlessly.
It's all?
- My wife Priscilla and I are investing through a non-profit project in the education of the future. We prioritize personalized and self-paced learning. It is necessary to distinguish between students who are going to class in a class, from those who can play, experiment, take matters into their own hands. This is a very significant difference, and I hope that it will be taken into account by educational systems around the world. In virtual reality, you don't need a super-competent programmer to create accessible software such as laser games, ping-pong or darts. Then you can invite your friends to play with you. This is extremely interesting!
During your student years, you were impressed by Virgil's Aeneid and the history of the Roman emperor Augustus. Can technology convey knowledge of history?
- Virtual reality allows you to go where it is very difficult or even impossible to get there. This applies to an artistic event, a historical reenactment, or a completely imaginary scenario. Virtual reality can be useful for training surgeons or understanding what a refugee's life might look like. The same goes for getting to know the life of a historical character.
Hao Li, a computer science teacher at the University of Southern California, predicts a whole slew of fake videos will appear in six months. Virtual reality is a weapon of mass immersion. Can it contribute to an increase in the number of such manipulations?
- On the contrary, this is the best way to assess a person. Universal opportunity for self-expression has become a great contribution of the Internet. But being able to face another is even better. Chatting online is great, but seeing the person's face and gestures is even better. In addition, the more access to opportunities people have everywhere, and not just in cities, the more stable our societies will be.
Why not go directly to augmented reality? It is still much richer than virtual …
- Augmented reality is more mobile. You will not walk down the street with a VR headset on your head. I would say that augmented reality is the phone of the future, and virtual reality is the TV of the future. They are both important. I bet that the share of virtual reality will be much more than you imagine.
But now few people watch television
- No, you are watching it on your mobile phone!
Your truth … But back to the topic. Google recently demonstrated quantum excellence by showing a prototype processor capable of performing an operation in four minutes that would take modern supercomputers 10,000 years. Should I join this race?
- Yes, it can be useful for some algorithms.
Facebook is 15 years old. Will we see helmets connected to the internet in less than 15 years?
- Yes!
In less than five years?
- I hope (laughs). But take a look at everything we have access to today. We invest in this industry more than any other enterprise in the world. And the progress is already simply amazing. Just a few years ago, you would need a $ 600 helmet, a several thousand dollar computer, dedicated headphones, and lots of bulky connections to get this experience. Today, a $ 400 helmet is enough to travel through space and time. We want to make this technology publicly available. That's why last year we invested $ 10.2 billion, or 20% of our turnover, in research in artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality, as well as in greener data centers.
What place is given to France in all this? There are many French people in positions of responsibility in your company, such as Fidji Simo in charge of the Facebook application, Yann Le Cun in charge of AI, Julien Codorniou in charge of Facebook at Work, and project manager "Libra" David Marcus (David Marcus). Why did our country fail to create its own Facebook?
- I think that France and in particular Paris can take a prominent place in the field of artificial intelligence. You should focus on promising industries for you. If you compare France to the rest of Europe, you are leading in many areas. You can rely on good universities, excellent math skills, high-end research institutions, great startups, and businesses like Ubisoft.
Yes it is. But why do we have so few tech leaders compared to China or the US? When this question was asked to Steve Jobs in 1984, he said that Europe and France in particular are afraid of failure …
- The government made the right decisions in the field of artificial intelligence. As Steve rightly said, it has been difficult to set up businesses in Europe for a long time. But we are committed to supporting the ecosystem of innovation in France and Europe. When we made the decision to maintain a dedicated AI center in Paris, we were aiming for the long term, at least 15-20 years.
As for the libra, Facebook's cryptocurrency, do you understand the restrained attitude of some governments, including the French?
- I think this service will be primarily useful for those who today do not have access to the financial system. In the USA and Europe, we have access to a stable currency system, a perfectly working payment system. Libra will help promote underdeveloped areas such as micropayments, but it will benefit mainly developing countries, whose populations have difficulty accessing banking services. Or in cases where the government can take money away from you or play on inflation, undermining its value. Therefore, I believe that such a service as libra is needed by hundreds of millions, probably even billions of people around the world. I understand perfectly well that blockchain is a new technology. We will not launch cryptocurrency services until we receive permission from the regulators of each country.
During your student years, you spoke French, Hebrew, Latin, Ancient Greek …
- I didn’t speak them fluently, but I learned these languages (laughs).
Now you are learning Chinese in order to enter the market of this country in the future, where you will have to face a competitor in the person of WeChat. If you could start over, what mistakes would you try to avoid?
- I do not know (is silent). This is an interesting but difficult question.
Could you imagine that one day you will find yourself face to face with members of Congress who will demand the dissolution of your company?
- I had no plans to create a company either. Yes, I had some projects, and forming an enterprise turned out to be the best way to implement them. Because you can hire exceptional people and pay them well to accomplish the important life-changing things. When it comes to disbanding the company, I have no idea how it will solve the main problems of the industry, such as protecting privacy, elections, or fighting offensive content. I am calling for fair and equal treatment of all tech companies. In addition, if we are disbanded, it will mean less resources for overcoming problems.
You have paused the Aquila solar drone project, which is supposed to provide Internet access to remote regions. Is it no longer relevant?
- Not at all! We will definitely come back with a modified project. I can tell you that the Internet.org connection program remains our top priority.
Guillaume Grallet