Meta AI CEO Alexandr Wang Lays Out His Playbook for Espionage

With more than 3.5 billion active users worldwide, Meta—the company behind Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook—reaches nearly 40 percent of the world’s population. That scale gives it a huge advantage in rolling out new technologies, according to Alexandr Wang, the 29-year-old head of AI at Meta, who outlined the company’s vision for custom forms of advanced AI while speaking at the AI ​​Impact Conference in New Delhi, India today (Feb. 19). “Our vision is personal super-intelligence: AI that knows you, your goals, your interests and helps you with whatever you focus on,” he said.

Wang was appointed by Mark Zuckerberg last year during an extensive internal overhaul of Meta and has since been tasked with leading the next phase of AI development. Key to that effort is differentiating Meta’s approach from competitors by emphasizing the empowerment of individuals over mass automation.

While other tech companies make “good but vague claims” about the power of AI, Meta is already putting tools in the hands of users, according to Wang. He pointed to examples including video translation, customer support collaboration and radiology development. “We don’t have to be vague – people are using our AI right now.”

Meta went on a hiring spree last year, reportedly offering AI researchers packages worth up to $100 million to join its new Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) team. Wang joined after his data labeling startup, Scale AI, received a $14 billion investment from Meta. The company spent $72.2 billion in AI-related spending last year and expects that figure to rise to between $115 billion and $135 billion by 2026 as it expands data centers and computing power.

Wang’s time at MSL has not gone well so far. A few months after its establishment, last year there was a wave of resignations of new and long-time employees of Meta. Wang’s leadership also faced criticism from Yann LeCun, a well-known researcher who spent more than a decade guiding Meta’s AI strategy and left the company in November. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, he described Wang as “young” and “naive.”

One thing is certain: the emerging CEO shares Zuckerberg’s optimism about AI’s transformative potential. Wang said his interest in technological change was influenced by growing up in Los Alamos, which instilled in him “the belief that anything is possible, and that science should serve society.” Now one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, Wang previously worked at fintech company Addepar and question-and-answer site Quora before launching Scale AI.

To date, Meta’s large investments in AI have yet to translate into significant financial returns. But the company is betting that its spending will eventually usher in an era where users have access to personalized AI tools tailored to their goals—whether that means customized health plans that include diet, exercise and sleep, detailed event checklists and reminders, or suggestions to carve out more leisure time.

“It’s just not going to make your boss,” said Wang, who announced that Meta will release a number of new models in the coming months. “It will be one more extension of you to be you, more.”

Meta’s extended technical strategy has also drawn scrutiny. The company is currently defending claims in a landmark lawsuit in Los Angeles that say its business practices fueled social media addiction and harmed the mental health of young users.

In a nod to these criticisms, Wang addressed concerns that Meta’s AI strategy “could get you hooked and leave you staring at screens.” Instead, he said, personal intelligence will encourage users to be active, pursue their passions and strengthen relationships.

For the skeptics who remain uncertain, Wang offered a practical argument: competition. In a crowded AI market, he said, users dissatisfied with Meta’s approach will have many alternatives.

“Because of how closely your AI will know, people won’t hire us for work if we don’t do it responsibly,” Wang said. “We’re going to lose customers, we’re going to lose public trust, and we’re going to lose our competitors.”