Meta AI Chief Alexandr Wang Deletes Edited Photo of PM Narendra Modi

Meta AI boss Alexandr Wang has been having his "Muse" moment on social media, flooding his followers with memes and comments about Muse, a Meta AI tool that has gone viral. Among so many memes and jokes, Wang also posted an edited photo featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. The original photo, taken during the ‘India AI Impact Summit’, showed Prime Minister Modi on stage alongside Altman and Dario. In the edited version, Wang inserted Muse's furry and adorable pet holding hands with both of them, dropping a subtle hint at the business rivalry between the two.

It is worth remembering that that moment on the stage of the ‘India AI Impact Summit’ went viral at the beginning of the year. While Prime Minister Modi shook hands with several AI leaders in a triumphant pose, Altman and Dario refused to shake hands with each other, breaking the chain and making the situation quite awkward. In the edited photo, the Muse mascot stands between Dario and Altman, holding their hands and thus completing the chain.

What was Wang looking for with this image? Probably making a harmless joke about Dario and Altman, in addition to highlighting Muse's "capabilities", suggesting that the tool managed to unite the hands of two great rivals.

Posting the photo on X, Wang wrote: "What can't Muse do?" But it didn't stop there. In another post on X, he shared a screenshot of the edited image and wrote: "Does anyone know where Muse can pick up his Nobel Peace Prize?" This post was a playful extension of the same joke.

Why did Wang remove Modi's photo?

However, several hours after posting it, Wang deleted the photo. There is no clear explanation as to why he decided to withdraw it. Neither Wang nor Meta have publicly stated that the post was removed due to a complaint, controversy, or intervention by the Indian government or any other party.

However, one possible explanation is that Wang simply wanted to avoid any controversy surrounding an edited image featuring a head of state, such as India's prime minister. And even more so at a time when the Indian government appears to still be upset with Meta over a deleted video that Prime Minister Modi had posted on Facebook.

In July, Facebook briefly restricted a video posted on Modi’s account. Meta later stated that the video had been restricted "in error" and restored it; however, the incident prompted the Indian government to demand an explanation from the company. Subsequently, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s head of global policy, apologised to India’s Minister of Information Technology. Wang may have therefore removed the post to avoid sparking further controversy.

In recent days, Wang has been enthusiastically discussing Muse across various platforms. He has heavily promoted Meta’s latest AI product through memes, jokes, and demonstrations.

Meta launched Muse on September 8 as a personal AI agent designed to do more than just answer questions. Unlike a conventional chatbot, Muse can perform actions on the user's behalf. According to Meta, the system is capable of handling tasks such as sending emails, booking travel, and interacting with various applications, all while working toward long-term goals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kahekashan

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Kahekashan is a passionate technophile with a keen eye for cutting-edge gadgets, emerging technologies, and everything in the digital realm. Raised in a Defence family with strong values and a background in literature, she has consistently pursued excellence in every endeavour. Her last full-time assignment involved content writing with the Indian School of Business.

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