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Facebook Messenger Now Analyzes Your Chats To Give You Recommendations (yahoo.com)

Facebook's messaging platform, which reports 1 billion monthly active users, announced on Thursday that it is rolling out its experimental virtual assistant "M" to all Messenger users in the United States this week through a new feature called M Suggestions. A report adds: M Suggestions does exactly what its name suggests, using artificial intelligence to understand what is being said in any given Messenger chat to make recommendations that pop up during the course of a conversation. Some folks who already feel like Facebook is watching them when they see ads in their News Feed for bridal gowns after getting engaged may be creeped out by the fact their messages are being analyzed. But Stan Chudnovsky, Facebook Messenger's Head of Product, contends their goal with M Suggestions is to offer a better user experience. To wit, M Suggestions does not currently generate any revenues for Messenger. "The history of the internet is all about removing friction," Chudnovsky told Yahoo Finance. "In this case, instead of you having to think about doing something, like sending a sticker, paying a friend for something or sharing your location, and having to press three taps, M does it for you."

13 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Keyword by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Suggestions does not currently generate any revenues "

    Key word: currently.

  2. Some of my group chats... by metalheadsunite · · Score: 2

    Oh man. If that thing starts reading the group chats I'm a part of, I can't wait to see what the recommendations will be. "You should attend some sensitivity training." "You should grow up a little and move out of your mom's basement and stop posting memes." "Having friends like that may land you in jail."

  3. Re:not sure by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

    It's Facebook, so no.

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  4. Its not a good thing. by Zombie+Ryushu · · Score: 2

    No, its not, it verifies what I was saying before: Nothing on Facebook is private, use OTR with Pidgin if you must use FaceBook for Chat with someone, or use some other means of chat.

  5. Re:not sure by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Informative

    It probably isn't.

    I wouldn't know though... I just "Request Desktop Site" if I have a PM on Facebook, and use the mobile Chrome app to read it like I do the rest of Facebook.

    (no, seriously, fuck their apps. I got no use for 'em.)

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  6. Here's a suggestion by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

    ... their goal with M Suggestions is to offer a better user experience.

    Stop using Facebook.

    Some folks who already feel like Facebook is watching them when they see ads in their News Feed for bridal gowns after getting engaged may be creeped out by the fact their messages are being analyzed.

    Now M Suggestions can spy on -- I mean "watch" -- I mean "analyze" -- your messages in real-time. Ya, *much* less creepy. /sarcasm

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  7. Re:not sure by spire3661 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here is how i explain why these Assistants are bad. They dont work for you, they work for the company that sold it to you. If I ask Amazon Alexa for some Shakespeare, she is going to try and sell me books from Amazon instead of reciting it (for free) from Project Gutenberg.

    --
    Good-bye
  8. Re:not sure by known_coward_69 · · Score: 2

    sounds like alexa is as grumpy as i am when people ask me directions on the street

    "google maps, stupid"

  9. Re:not sure by jwhyche · · Score: 2

    Don't know, Don't care. I will not allow facebook messager on my phone and I have disabled facebook.

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    I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
  10. Clippy 34.0 by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    Clippy just won't die. When you try to kill a zombie, you just make it zombier.

    Clippy: "Mr. President, it looks like you are trying to blame another politician for your snafu. Would you like some help? I can offer you Conspiracy Generator 3.0 at a discount today..."

  11. Re:not sure by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

    No, the drug test suggestion for your kids goes to Social Services.

  12. Suggestion from "M" by knorthern+knight · · Score: 4, Funny

    > I'm a heavy facebook user,

    Hi; I'm "M". Here's a list of gyms and Weight Watchers groups in your area.

    --

    I'm not repeating myself
    I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
  13. Re:Creeped out? by Nyder · · Score: 2

    I don't get why this is creepy. They already have your data (you're posting it on their site after all!) Its no secret that analyzing data is something that these "information" companies can and pretty much always do.

    I could see being creeped out in 2010 when this kind of shit was new but by this point it should be considered the default position. You should almost be more creeped out if they're NOT doing this kind of shit since it kind of suggests they're probably doing something even more nefarious (not that they couldn't do both of course..)

    Now pissed off that they're going to start injecting ads into your conversations? That's something I can get behind. Or at least I could if I actually used FB.

    It's creepy because people have an expectation of privacy. Like when you call someone on the phone, you expect it to be between you and that person. You know the computer takes care of everything, so no reason why anyone should be listening or recording it. These same people think they should be getting the same sort of privacy with messenger apps.

    Of course, any one paying attention to the last decade knows that all our shit is being recorded, for some reason or the other. No matter what you wanted, we are in a surveillance society, the question is, do we make laws to protect us from ourselves, or do we just carry on how we are doing it?

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    Be seeing you...