Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday it would roll out its generative artificial intelligence assistant Meta AI in the European Union “this week,” more than a year after its US release.
“It’s taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system – but we’re glad we’re finally here,”
According to the company’s statement.
“Starting this week, Meta AI will begin rolling out across 41 European countries.”
Meta AI was introduced for the US in September 2023 and then made available across all the group’s applications in April 2024. In the US, image generation is available, but in the EU, generative AI will only generate texts in response to questions. Meta AI can also draw on web searches for its responses.
The company stated the bot’s inclusion in conversations could help
“deep dive on topics of interest, or get help with a ‘how-to’ or a problem that needs solving”
Such as scheduling a trip.
Why did Meta delay the AI launch in the EU?
Meta had previously held off on introducing its AI in the European Union, stating that it was unclear how authorities might analyze overlapping rules on data protection, AI and digital markets. Europe suffers from a
“fragmented regulatory structure riddled with inconsistent implementation,”
Chief executive Mark Zuckerburg stated in an August op-ed article for the Economist newspaper, co-written with Spotify chief Daniel Ek.
These hurdles appear to have been overcome by Meta for 41 European countries and the six languages in which it operates. AI is an essential priority for Meta, as for other Silicon Valley giants.
The group also intends to invest $60-65 billion this year, with much of the money going into data centers, servers and network infrastructure required to develop AI models.
“This is a massive effort, and over the coming years, it will drive our core products and business, unlock historic innovation, and extend American technology leadership,”
Zuckerberg stated in January as he revealed Meta’s 2024 financial results.
Why did the EU fine Meta €797.72 million?
One thing to keep in mind is that in November 2024, the European Commission fined Meta €797.72 million for violating EU antitrust rules by connecting its online classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, to its personal social network, Facebook and by setting unfair trading requirements on other online classified ads service providers. The EU Commission’s investigation uncovered that Meta is prevalent in the market for personal social networks, which is at least European Economic Area (‘EEA’) wide, in addition to the national markets for online display advertising on social media.
