Zuck's AI manifesto is a data center PR masterclass | E2323

**Jason Calacanis** (0:00)
There is a PR group for Meta that says, how can we turn the narrative on data centers around? Because we need to build more data centers. We need to catch up here. When you're behind, you go open. When you're ahead, you go closed. I'm in your corner, and we're going to be the company that gives you an agent, a tutor, free design tools, and makes your life better. The only thing we ask is that you let us build some data centers. This is the best version of Zuckerberg I've seen in his career. And he is thinking about the ramifications of what he builds for the first time in the history of the company.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:34)
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**Jason Calacanis** (1:23)
It's our news program today. We've got a lot of news Lon.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:26)
We do.

**Jason Calacanis** (1:26)
Including Mark Zuckerberg's essay. This thing is long. I went on a ruck this morning and I listened to it.

**Lon Harris** (1:33)
6,500 words, 6,500 words in Zuck's manifesto.

**Jason Calacanis** (1:37)
He writes nine more. He's got a book. So a book is typically 60,000 words. So he does nine more essays. You could have Zuckerberg's essays. And he's getting pretty active on X, which he never did. His handle is ThinkD, if you don't know that, at F-I-N-K-D, which was his online handle when he was in college.

**Lon Harris** (1:54)
Yes, he has not ever changed his handle online. So yeah, the essay is titled The Future is for Everyone, The Path to a Positive AI Future.
Here is arguments in a nutshell. Basically, superintelligence's biggest risk is centralization, not the tech itself. He expresses three core principles, individual empowerment, AI's main purpose is invention, not automation. And there should be a balance of power in governing access to information and what we're doing with all of this intelligence. He also says, here's what Meta is building to sort of be part of this AI future. That includes a personal AI agent for everyone, powerful coding video design and more tools for everyone, ways to launch businesses without teams or funding, a pH level tutor or coach for any subject, contributions to science and so forth. He also discusses some of the risks, job loss, data center pushback, cybersecurity and bio weapons, the US not keeping pace with China. And he makes a few policy commitments, Jason. Meta will continue releasing open source models. They today dropped the open weight model Muse Glimmer and they're making plans for an open weight version of Muse Spark 1.2. He also proposes independent boards to review model safety criteria. And he calls for closer cooperation between labs and the government that doesn't slow down the release of new models.
So, that's kind of a quick overview. So, what do you think? I mean, I think most people, is this PR? Is this advertising for the next wave of Meta AI? Or do you take this as a sincere thing that Zuck is worried about the future and wanted to be part of the conversation?

**Jason Calacanis** (3:34)
There's a lot going on here. I think he's learned a lot being a technologist who moved fast and broke things and got himself into hot water. One of the things he learned is he's historically a terrible communicator. He's unlikable because he's rich. He maybe, I don't want to diagnose anybody, but maybe doesn't make eye contact or doesn't speak in a way that is engaging to people.
I think he understands those faults. Then also, I think because he was such a young founder, he was getting spun by different people telling him how to run his business, and how to communicate. You take those two combinations together, not being a great natural communicator, but great at building a business, obviously, and then people spinning you around, that I think he's finally saying, I'm going to control the message here. I'm going to state my actual beliefs in a way like Elon does, and let the chips fall where they may. I'm going to go direct. Now we're seeing him get vocal and go direct because he just paid this huge fine. And the entirety of the second movie that's coming out about him, you put all that together as just a little prologue to this. I think he now wants to communicate directly, as a man, as a founder, founder authority, I'm going to control the message. I'm going to actually think from first principles what I believe, and I'm going to state it. And I'm going to be more thoughtful and preempt things that typically I would just build products, not explain myself, and then when they break things, I'll just pretend that didn't happen and not say anything, and then get pulled in front of Congress. In corporate communications, I think he's made a lot of mistakes over the years. I think he would agree with that, too.