Okay, so we are going to be honest here. We all have imagined talking or chatting to our favorite celebrities, or should I say, celebrity crushes? Besides having an imaginative life with them, is that right? Hold onto your VR headsets, folks, because Meta has just dropped a bombshell of AI and VR goodies at its 2023 Connect conference. From celebrity-inspired chatbots to new smart glasses, it's a tech extravaganza that's sure to leave you buzzing with anticipation. Let's break down the highlights.

ChatGPT Meets Celebrities

First and foremost, there's Meta's new AI conversation assistant feature. It works similarly to ChatGPT but with a celebrity twist. Imagine conversing with your favorite celebrities as if they were your best friends - that's the concept behind this fascinating service. Meta is bringing this AI helper to all of its apps, offering a more personalized experience than ever before. Although it's not the star on the other side of the screen still, it is pretty much fascinating if the AI is talking in disguise, Tom Cruise.

Picture this: you're on WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram, and you start a chat with your AI pal. But wait, it's not just any AI – it's Meta AI, designed to chat with you like a real person. Plus, it's not limited to just your chat apps – it's also coming to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest 3. Now, you can have a virtual companion with you wherever you go.

But how does it work, you may wonder? Meta AI is powered by a proprietary model that leverages Llama 2's technological genius and their most recent large language model (LLM) research. Because of a clever collaboration with Bing, this AI wizard gets real-time access to information in text-based interactions. So, when you ask a question, you don't simply receive any answer; you get a super-smart, up-to-date one.

Did we mention the Bing collaboration? That's right, Microsoft's Bing is teaming up with Meta to provide you with the most up-to-date information on real-time search. Bing will be the secret ingredient that powers Meta AI's chat experiences, ensuring that you receive the most rapid and accurate responses possible. But it's unusual to see these tech titans collaborate. What's going on behind the scenes? Perhaps an epic data-sharing agreement is in the works. Who can say?

Déjà Vu: Chatbots Redux

Now, before you start thinking this is groundbreaking, it's worth noting that Meta has been down this road before. Remember "M," the chat assistant from back in 2015? It was supposed to be the bee's knees of chatbots, delivering answers and prompts right in your Messenger chats. But, alas, it had its quirks. It would occasionally provide answers that left you scratching your head, making you question whether it had a hidden sense of humor. To keep it on track, real people had to babysit it, which wasn't exactly a smooth operation.

In 2018, Meta had to bid farewell to "M" due to high maintenance and low usage – a bit like retiring a racehorse that didn't quite live up to its potential. Fast forward to today, and Meta is taking another swing at the chatbot game, hoping to hit a home run this time.

That concludes Meta's huge AI and VR show. It's a bright new world of tech wonders, from chatbots that channel your favorite celebrities to collaborations with Bing that promise real-time enchantment. Will Meta's latest ventures stand the test of time, or will they perish like "M"? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: the tech world is far from boring. Keep an eye out for more futuristic wonders from Meta and beyond.

Read next: Meta's AI Assistant Teams Up with Microsoft Bing for Real-Time Chat