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Screengrab via Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

Zuckerberg introduces new AI sidekick with painfully awkward home videos

The Facebook CEO has a pretty good sense of humor.

Tech

Posted on Dec 21, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 8:39 am CDT

Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that he had created artificial intelligence software to control his house. His inspiration came from Jarvis, Tony Stark’s AI sidekick in Iron Man. The Facebook CEO has now added two videos to his post about the project—and they’re both incredibly awkward and surprisingly funny.  

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The first video begins with Zuckerberg waking up to the voice of god Morgan Freeman. Yes, Morgan Freeman is the voice of everything good, and Zuckerberg’s personal AI. He beat out Robert Downey Jr., who offered his vocal assistance back in October. 

Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

Zuckerberg’s AI greets him and tells him everything he needs to know about his day: He only has five meetings, his room is set to a specific temperature, and so on.

Once the Facebook CEO starts talking, things get a little weird. In fact, you might start thinking Zuckerberg is the AI in the video, with his robotic voice and uncanny movements. He comes across like a prototype robot in Westworld.

Then again, the video was not meant to be serious. Zuckerberg proves even a tech CEO and computer programmer can make folks chuckle by telling Freeman his Mandarin is soothing, showing his closet full of only gray shirts (this might not actually be set up), and absolutely thrashing Nickelback (we admit, this one is a bit cheap, but it always works).

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A second video was posted a few hours later. This time, his wife takes the lead role and discusses her experiences with Jarvis. She complains about the first voice Zuckerberg tried out for it. We won’t spoil it for you, but you won’t be surprised to find out Morgan Freeman makes for a much more pleasant AI.  

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*First Published: Dec 21, 2016, 9:56 am CST