Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has created a Product Advisory Council to provide guidance on the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) and technology efforts.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (May 22).
The group will consist of four executives: Patrick Collison, CEO and co-founder of Stripe; Nate Friedman, former CEO of GitHub; Tobi Lütke, CEO of Shopify; and Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft executive, according to the report.
Members of the Meta Advisory Group will not be paid and will provide insights and recommendations on technological development, innovation and strategic development opportunities, the report said.
Unlike Meta’s board of directors, members of the advisory group are not elected by shareholders and, according to the report, have no liability to the company.
According to the report, the Meta Advisory Group was formed as Meta aims to strengthen its focus on AI-focused products. This includes hardware devices such as virtual reality headsets and smart glasses, as well as software products such as Meta’s AI assistant, which are available to users through various apps.
During Meta’s recent earnings call, Zuckerberg expressed hope and ambition in the field of AI, stating that the company has the potential to become the world’s leading AI company, according to the report.
Zuckerberg also stressed the need for patience, as many of Meta’s AI efforts may not yield immediate financial returns, the report said. The company faces competition from rivals like Google, Microsoft and startup Anthropic in the race to develop AI models that can power the next generation of tech products.
While it’s unclear how often the Meta Advisory Group will meet, Zuckerberg said the group will periodically advise Meta’s management team moving forward, according to the report.
During Meta’s earnings call on April 24, Zuckerberg brought up AI and the metaverse within the first minute of the call.
Company earnings released today showed Meta plans to spend $5 billion more than initially forecast to develop new AI products for consumers, developers, enterprises and hardware manufacturers.
Meta’s announcement of a $35 billion investment in AI signaled an aggressive push into the growing tech arms race, setting new precedents for how tech companies capitalize on advances in the technology.