Meta’s newest AI model beats some peers. But its amped-up AI agents are confusing Facebook users

— Facebook parent Meta Platforms unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems Thursday that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.” But as Zuckerberg’s crew of amped-up Meta AI agents started venturing into social media this week to engage with real people, their bizarre exchanges exposed the ongoing limitations of even the best generative AI technology. Exactly one hour after a Facebook user posted about looking for certain items, an AI agent offered a “gently used” Canon camera and an “almost-new portable air conditioning unit that I never ended up using.” Meta said in a written statement Thursday that “this is new technology and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems.” The company said it is constantly working to improve the features. They’re still making mistakes in reasoning.” Getting to AI systems that can perform higher-level cognitive tasks and commonsense reasoning — where humans still excel— might require a shift beyond building ever-bigger models. Joelle Pineau, Meta’s vice president of AI research, said at a London event last week the company’s goal over time is to make a Llama-powered Meta AI “the most useful assistant in the world.” “In many ways, the models that we have today are going to be child’s play compared to the models coming in five years,” she said.