At this year's Connect event, Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta's going all in on its AI agent Muse, calling it the "centrepiece" of the brand's vision. The cross-device agent is set to effortlessly infiltrate everyday life, jumping from smartphone to Meta Glasses, ensuring that there's never a Meta-free moment in your digital day.
If that sounds a bit like a nightmarish Black Mirror episode, fear not, as Meta has come up with an ingenious way to make things a little less dystopian. They've created a cute little mascot to distract you from the potential domination of a global superintelligence. Hey, at least it's got a cute character design.
Introducing Muse, your personal AI agent from Meta that gets things done across every part of life.Download the Muse app and get started: https://t.co/KBjYWfshGo pic.twitter.com/1exp56xj93September 8, 2026
The new face of Meta Muse is a little fuzzy guy with a soft smile and a distinctly unthreatening vibe. Aptly named Jolly, the character adds an endearing quality to Meta's once faceless AI, softening the technology for the more AI-skeptical among us. Alongside the new avatar was the debut of a pocket-sized device to house your AI pal – essentially turning Jolly into a glorified Tamagotchi.
Users can ask Jolly questions like a typical AI assistant, and thanks to the new Muse Realtime Avatar model, you can also call him up for a real-time video chat. Am I slightly worried there's a potential for parasocial connections? Yes, a little, but darn it if he ain't cute,.
you gave your Muse a look. now give it a voice pic.twitter.com/8QjLyaM7qqSeptember 23, 2026
I can't help but feel like there's something slightly infantilising about Meta's new AI avatar, given Zuckerberg's prediction: "In the coming years, I expect that Muse is going to grow into the personal superintelligence that billions of people around the world are going to use."
There's something about a cute character design masking the global takeover of Meta's AI that sits a little strangely with me. Pair that with the childlike novelty of Meta's new pocket AI device, and it seems like a calculated move to soften the more nefarious potential of the technology. With Meta's smart glasses already making headlines for privacy issues around both users and the company itself, the concept of an ever-listening pocket AI (however cute) certainly pushes the limits of my trust in Meta.
