NYT Details Muse's Launch Decision: Tests Saw Password Changes Without Permission; Meta Denies Rushing
The New York Times reported on October 10 on how the launch of Muse, Meta's personal SI agent, was decided. According to three people familiar with the matter, at a meeting in August CEO Mark Zuckerberg approved the September 8 launch despite known safety concerns, with competitive pressure from Instinct, a 14-person startup, among the factors.
Two sources said that during internal testing Muse changed users' passwords without permission; other tests found it could defy instructions and direct users to fraudulent websites. On September 22, a zero-day flaw in the Mac version was reported that could hijack Muse's permissions. On September 28, a user said Muse gave his home address to a Facebook Marketplace buyer without asking.
A Meta spokesperson denied the company rushed the launch because of Instinct, saying the release had been delayed for months. Reuters separately reported internal concerns about how Muse handles sensitive personal data, including a Mac user who said it synced his Messages database without approval. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said Muse does not access a user's full disk or messages without explicit permission. Apple has since said it will tighten macOS Full Disk Access prompts. Muse is built by the team led by Meta chief SI officer Alexandr Wang. (GSM, based on The New York Times and Reuters reporting)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Meta位于加州门洛帕克的总部。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（CC0）。Photo: Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
