Meta's not working in the metaverse

Hi all, it’s Aisha Counts in San Francisco. Meta employees don’t seem interested in working in the metaverse. But first... Three things you [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi all, it’s Aisha Counts in San Francisco. Meta employees don’t seem interested in working in the metaverse. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Apple plans to expand deeper into China and [overhaul locations in the US]( • Palantir CEO touted the power of AI at a [customer conference]( • Amazon’s planned takeover of iRobot faced[EU merger review]( In-person meetings are winning During the pandemic, when many workers saw their teams only via videoconference, [Mark Zuckerberg](bbg://people/profile/15103277)’s embrace of virtual reality seemed somewhat reasonable. The company renamed itself [Meta Platforms Inc.](bbg://securities/meta) and prioritized bringing about the “metaverse,” a digital immersive world where people could meet up and do things together – including their jobs – while wearing VR headsets at home. Meta is still selling this vision to corporate customers, as well as consumers. The company debuted its Quest 3 headset on Thursday, which my colleague Mark Gurman [tried out]( and liked. Apple Inc. is expected to unveil an ambitious version that will compete with Meta on Monday. But so far, Meta isn’t practicing what it preaches. Employees across the organization generally aren’t using the headsets – especially not for work meetings, according to 11 current and former employees. Even those in the VR part of the organization don’t use it regularly for work, said one former employee, who, like the others, declined to be named discussing internal culture. Meta only provides headsets to employees if they've signed up for an internal program to test new features before the public. Otherwise, they get a discount, the people said. Some teams – including policy head Nick Clegg’s – tried experimental VR meetings, only to abandon the practice after finding it uncomfortable and glitchy, one of the people said. Some of the glitches may be attributed to the testing program. Meta’s own health and safety [warnings]( suggest taking an extended break every 30 minutes, as the headsets have potential to cause nausea and other discomfort. Plus, the graphics can’t compete with the real world, appearing as a legless cartoon avatar feels “weird” and unprofessional, and the experience of wearing a headset itself can be embarrassing, others said. Only a few hundred thousand people use Horizon Worlds, the company’s first attempt at the metaverse. Meta declined to provide internal headset usage numbers. A spokesperson said it depends on the role and team — some do it weekly, some just for large meetings or events, and some not at all, if they’re working in person. Meta is meanwhile rejecting the work-from-anywhere culture it embraced during the pandemic, urging its teams to gather in person. Zuckerberg recently shared internal research showing early-career engineers perform better when they work in-person with their colleagues at least three days a week. The company will ask most workers to come to the office that frequently [starting in September]( and has been consolidating its office space – [cutting]( the Instagram London team, for instance – and asking employees who moved away during the pandemic to come back. Meta has sold some headsets to companies like Walmart Inc. and the consulting firm Accenture Plc, by pitching a vision of employees using them for training and meetings. Even those doing the demos aren’t using the products for their own work, said one former employee involved. Zuckerberg often says Meta is in the early innings of its push into virtual reality and the metaverse. He’s said that for almost a decade now. If his own employees refuse to use the products for work, why would anyone else? — [Aisha Counts](mailto:acounts3@bloomberg.net), with [Alex Barinka](mailto:abarinka2@bloomberg.net) The big story The release of consumer-focused artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard is set to fuel[a decade-long boom]( that grows the market for generative AI to an estimated $1.3 trillion in revenue by 2032 from $40 billion last year, according to a new report by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts led by Mandeep Singh. One to watch [Watch the Bloomberg Technology TV interview]( with Palantir CEO Alex Karp on all things AI. Get fully charged Want the inside scoop on Apple? Make sure you’re signed up for [Mark Gurman’s Power On]( newsletter to go inside Apple’s WWDC. [Bloomberg.com subscribers]( will receive an exclusive extra edition wrapping up everything you need to know. Tens of thousands of Amazon employees could listen to voice recordings of Alexa users, [according to US regulators.]( Meta announced the latest version of its Quest mixed-reality headset, [a lower-cost alternative](. The Pentagon is buying Starlink satellite communications terminals and services from Elon Musk’s SpaceX for use by the [Ukraine military](. More artists are embracing artificial intelligence, [not fighting it](. 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