Yesterday we witnessed the arrival of another contender in the field of personal digital Assistants, the Facebook "M". Just Like other virtual Assistants it will assist messenger users in there day to day tasks and make their life a lot easier. But wait, unlike Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana and Google Now it comes with a difference.
Instead of being purely based on artificial intelligence (AI), it also uses real people Kind of like customer service representatives, to complete tasks and answer queries. Companies from Google to Task rabbit are engineering products to act as super powered personal assistants, these are completely based on technology and though they can be used by a lot of people, their range of tasks remains limited. Others, like startups Magic and Operator or gig-economy companies like TaskRabbit, employ people to respond to text-based requests. M is a hybrid So it has the hybrid of both: It’s a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence as well as a band of Facebook employees, dubbed M trainers, who will make sure that every request is answered.
David Marcus , Vice President of messaging services at Facebook wrote in a post on his Facebook page:
So how does the system Work? simple. you type a question to M and it answers. This request can be anything from Looking for a new place, booking a movie ticket to getting a gift recommendation for a friend. M will carry out all these task without ever letting the user know whether the AI part has carried out the task or the "M-trainers" have.
Facebook has tested the technology by making it available for its employees for a long time , Facebook employees have been using M for several weeks.
David Marcus , Vice President of messaging services at Facebook wrote in a post on his Facebook page:
"It's powered by artificial intelligence that's trained and supervised by people - Unlike other AI-based services in the market, M can actually complete tasks on your behalf. It can purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and way more."
So how does the system Work? simple. you type a question to M and it answers. This request can be anything from Looking for a new place, booking a movie ticket to getting a gift recommendation for a friend. M will carry out all these task without ever letting the user know whether the AI part has carried out the task or the "M-trainers" have.
Facebook has tested the technology by making it available for its employees for a long time , Facebook employees have been using M for several weeks.
“An engineer went to Paris for a couple days, and his friend asked M to redecorate his desk in a French style,” Marcus says. “Twenty-four hours later, the desk was decorated with a proper napkin, baguette bread, and a beret.”
One of M’s most popular requests from its Facebook employee testers: the service can call your cable company and endure the endless hold times and automated messages to help you set up home WiFi or cancel your HBO.
As of now M doesn't use data from users' social media to assist in the completion of the tasks, but Marcus told Wired magazine that that might change "at some point, with proper user consent." So for now if you ask for a birthday surprise for a friend it will use information by asking further questions and previous conversations you and M have had. M learns from human behaviors,” says Marcus..Eventually, the service might be sophisticated enough to figure this out on its own, but not soon.
M will definitely spawn countless business opportunities in the future. For instance if Facebook notices its getting some specific requests then it could partner with a particular company for a more efficient service.
As of now M doesn't use data from users' social media to assist in the completion of the tasks, but Marcus told Wired magazine that that might change "at some point, with proper user consent." So for now if you ask for a birthday surprise for a friend it will use information by asking further questions and previous conversations you and M have had. M learns from human behaviors,” says Marcus..Eventually, the service might be sophisticated enough to figure this out on its own, but not soon.
M will definitely spawn countless business opportunities in the future. For instance if Facebook notices its getting some specific requests then it could partner with a particular company for a more efficient service.
If, for instance, you have a lot of calls that have to be placed by people to cable companies,” says Marcus, “That’s a pretty good signal that their customers would actually like a better way to interact with the company and maybe they should have a presence inside of Messenger directly.”
Now that the technology is launched it will expand slowly with the passage of time. its available on a trial basis right now but it is free and will eventually be available for all Facebook users. lets see what possibilities M brings and sprouts into.
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