Meta Made a Tamagotchi-Like Wearable for Its Muse AI Agent

Meta has released a small device for use with its Muse artificial intelligence agent, furthering the company's drive towards a personal AI in a palm-sized package.

Meta has announced a new virtual assistant, called Muse Charm, at its annual Connect conference - and it is essentially a 2023, high-tech Tamagotchi, as first reported by The Verge. The accessory appears as a little screen that displays a digital mascot that serves as the Muse assistant.

You can wear this device and get it connected to your stuff, for example, on the keychain. The device will recognize you and in the corner, there's a fingerprint sensor, which you can use to get an access to the assistant. Meta has created a new operating system for Muse that enables it to run on the device hardware.

Muse Charm is the latest part of a Meta initiative to access more parts of our lives through Meta's AI assistant, Muse. Meta introduced this month at the beginning of the month as a personal AI assistant, as opposed to a search engine. It can be asked to email or book a trip, shop online and operate in connected services.

The security of Muse has also been a focus. Meta states that the agent runs inside a separate secure virtual machine, which has its own security framework for internet access. Users grant permission before the agent is allowed to perform more sensitive tasks such as sending an email or buying something, and users can see what the agent has done.

The Muse Charm will not be shipping right away. Meta is still working out the hardware in the Muse and expects to ship it out in December just in time for the holidays, said Zuckerberg. The company has yet to set a final price.

Meanwhile, Meta is rolling out the Muse to other devices. Meta said the company is planning to take the AI agent to its smart glasses, where it could help with exercise, food logging, appointments and shopping.

The Muse Charm is part of Meta's wider effort to reposition AI from a more phone-centric tool into an always-present virtual companion. Whether it proves to be a success will depend on whether people really want an AI device to lug around with their smartphones, computers and smart glasses.