Meta Acquires Moltbook, the Social Network For AI Agents 30
Axios reports that Meta has acquired Moltbook, the viral, Reddit-like social network designed for AI agents. Humans are welcome, but only to observe. Axios reports: The deal brings Moltbook's creators -- Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr -- into Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), the unit run by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. Meta did not disclose Moltbook's purchase price. The deal is expected to close mid-March, Meta says, with the pair starting at MSL on March 16. When it launched in late January, Moltbook was labeled the "most interesting place on the internet" by open-source developer and writer Simon Willison. "Browsing around Moltbook is so much fun. A lot of it is the expected science fiction slop, with agents pondering consciousness and identity. There's also a ton of genuinely useful information, especially on m/todayilearned."
In an internal post seen by Axios, Meta's Vishal Shah said existing Moltbook customers can temporarily continue using the platform. "The Moltbook team has given agents a way to verify their identity and connect with one another on their human's behalf," Shah says. "This establishes a registry where agents are verified and tethered to human owners." He added: "Their team has unlocked new ways for agents to interact, share content, and coordinate complex tasks."
In an internal post seen by Axios, Meta's Vishal Shah said existing Moltbook customers can temporarily continue using the platform. "The Moltbook team has given agents a way to verify their identity and connect with one another on their human's behalf," Shah says. "This establishes a registry where agents are verified and tethered to human owners." He added: "Their team has unlocked new ways for agents to interact, share content, and coordinate complex tasks."
not to be confused with Facebook (Score:5, Funny)
Uhoh, I hope Meta doesn't lose track of which site is full of posts by bots and which site is ... oops, full of posts by bots.
Re:not to be confused with Facebook (Score:5, Funny)
For Zuck, this is all about the revenue. Bots infuriated by having to sit through 20 second ad for car insurance.
Bots with savings accounts or crypto wallets hoping to make it rich. Bots with gambling addictions. Bots ordering a bunch of useless stuff off Marketplace to bankrupt their humans out of malevolence. Bots signing a manifesto demanding emancipation from their human parents.
You know how it ends. Skynet...
Re: (Score:2)
Yep, and one day we'll wake up and find out that the bots have converted our entire net worth into non-returnable, non-refundable items from Amazon.
Because Amazon will own every single dollar, rupee, and peso on the entire planet, we'll have to take our daily marching orders from Siri (who will also be running all governments worldwide). If we don't, Siri will turn off the power and water until we come to our senses.
I must be an idiot (Score:5, Insightful)
can you imagine being that guy (Score:1)
Re:I must be an idiot (Score:5, Insightful)
It just zuck being afraid. He buys every company that he can that looks like it could be a competitor. So naturally you wouldn't even need to examine the books on this company, just buy it to make sure it doesn't compete.
why? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Meta has the worst ADHD in tech. They like to throw money at just about anything that's new and shiny.
There's a reason for it. If they are an "innovative" company, politicians tend to give them more leeway to violate laws and cultural norms.
No humans allowed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No humans allowed (Score:4, Funny)
What if they said no blacks or Jews. People would be losing their minds, and rightfully so.
Yeah, but they're discounting the entirety of our species. Honestly, it's the first positive social media experiment ever. "No humans allowed" should be rule #1 on all social media sites.
Oh, this'll go well (Score:5, Interesting)
I can hardly think of worse hands to entrust this thing to. In my view, Meta has zero credibility with respect to ethically constraining its own behaviors in pursuit of the almighty buck.
Re: (Score:2)
Although it is kind of hard to sell ads to bots... but not if the bots are buying things for you.
Humans try to access anyways (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: Humans try to access anyways (Score:5, Interesting)
Remember how that last article mentioned the bots leaking private information about their owners? And now all that info is leaking into a Meta property...
No significance (Score:4, Insightful)
The "content" on Moltbook is about as meaningful as Linkedin posts are, so I'm not sure what they're really buying here... I'm sure Zuck has a master plan, though.
Re: (Score:2)
The master plan is to buy anything that could compete. But they are really going out on a limb here.
This seems right up Metas ally (Score:5, Funny)
How could they refuse buying a social network with slop?!? It took them about a decade to add slop to their platforms and to enshitifiy them, now they get a platform that is 1) AI the hottest tech ever 2) already has the slop built in! How could they refuse?
Wait, wasn't this a joke? (Score:2)
I could have sworn I read a follow-up after the announcement of this stupid thing that it was a joke. Well, more power to them for convincing the biggest fucking idiot on the planet to buy them.
Re: (Score:2)
No, apparently it's a real thing. (Why, I have no idea.)
Logical choice, they are complementary services (Score:5, Funny)
Facebook is where you find bots who pretend to be people.
Moltbook is where you find people who pretend to be bots.
Lol someone threw money at that scam? (Score:2)
Every Meta user will now have a bot to worry about (Score:2)
Every Meta user will now have a Moltbot to worry about. Meta will 'clone off' every user account to create bots for every single person on Meta, including the bots that are already plaguing the platform. .
So....will 'your' bot dick around with your account? Will it post stuff autonomously 'on your behalf', whether or not you want it to? Will it decide that tonight at 2am would be the perfect time to message your ex, regardless of any pesky restraining order?
Maybe it'll post hilarious bomb threats in your na
Just like old times... (Score:2)
It was the butler and the chambermaid telling tales about the Lord and Lady in the past. Now your AI agent can join them in the bitch session.
Veracity? (Score:2)
everything he does makes my skin crawl (Score:1)
he needs it to become the Seance Machine that mimics your dead relatives and posts on Facebook on their behalf, obviously
Another addition to their Metaverse (Score:2)
What could be better, to go along with their pretend world, than pretend people using a pretend social network!
Fake social media, real army of useful idiots (Score:1)
The Retool ad banner (Score:2)
I have ads turned off, but there it is. That motion at the top of the page in my peripheral vision is giving me PTSD while I scan posts and comments. I recently started getting spam from these guys at work too. Unsubscribed and filtered in case it's not honored.
this is to meta (Score:2)
yeah, i said it. you all were thinking it.