Yazılar

Meta Contractor Ignored Threats to Ethiopian Content Moderators by Rebel Group, Court Documents Reveal

/in /tarafından

Court documents filed on December 4 reveal that Sama, a contractor for Meta, allegedly dismissed threats made by Ethiopia’s Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) against Facebook content moderators working on graphic and inflammatory posts from the region. The revelations are part of an ongoing legal battle involving 185 former moderators in Kenya, who claim wrongful dismissal after attempting to unionize.

The moderators, who worked for Kenya-based Sama before Meta switched contractors to Majorel, said they were blacklisted from reapplying for roles at Majorel. Some moderators specializing in Ethiopian content reportedly received explicit threats from the OLA for removing the group’s posts.

One moderator, Abdikadir Alio Guyo, stated in his affidavit that he received a message warning him and his colleagues to stop deleting OLA content or face “dire consequences.” Another, Hamza Diba Tubi, reported receiving a message from the rebels listing moderators’ names and addresses, leaving him fearful for his safety and that of his family.

While Sama eventually moved one identified moderator to a safehouse, the petition alleges that the company initially dismissed the moderators’ complaints, accusing them of fabricating the threats.

Hate Speech Concerns in Ethiopia

The court documents also accuse Meta of failing to address systemic issues surrounding hate speech on its platform in Ethiopia. Alewiya Mohammed, a former supervisor of moderators, testified that moderators were caught in a “loop of hateful content” they were unable to remove because it did not technically violate Meta’s policies.

Experts previously hired by Meta had recommended more robust action against harmful content in Ethiopia, but the advice was allegedly ignored.

Broader Legal and Ethical Implications

This case is one of several ongoing legal challenges faced by Meta concerning its operations in Ethiopia. A separate lawsuit filed in 2022 accused Meta of allowing violent posts on Facebook to escalate the Ethiopian civil war between federal forces and Tigrayan regional authorities.

Meanwhile, the current lawsuit involving the dismissed moderators could have global repercussions for how Meta engages with third-party contractors and content moderators.

Meta has yet to comment on the allegations, while Sama said it could not provide a statement on the matter. The Oromo Liberation Army has also not responded to requests for comment.

The situation highlights the dangerous environment moderators face, particularly in regions like Ethiopia, where content moderation intersects with armed conflicts.

What’s Next for Meta’s Metaverse?

/in /tarafından

In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg redefined the trajectory of his social media empire by rebranding Facebook as Meta, signaling a shift in focus toward the emerging metaverse. The move marked a strategic pivot for the trillion-dollar company, aiming to showcase its ambitions beyond being a social networking platform.

“The company Facebook wanted to make clear that it was more than just that one social website,” said Leo Gebbie, principal analyst and director at CCS Insight.

The Vision Behind the Metaverse

Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse isn’t new; it dates back to 2014, when Facebook acquired Oculus, a virtual reality (VR) headset developer, and launched Reality Labs. The company sought to position itself as a leader in immersive technologies, banking on the rapid growth of the global gaming and VR markets, which saw revenue exceed $193 billion during the pandemic.

“There was a bit of a sense in 2020 and into 2021 that this was a technology that was ready, that it was finally going to hit the big time,” Gebbie noted.

In December 2021, Meta launched Horizon Worlds in the U.S., a virtual reality platform designed as an open-world social space. While the platform’s initial target was to reach 500,000 monthly active users by the end of its first year, Zuckerberg’s long-term ambition was much grander: he envisioned the metaverse hosting one billion users by the end of the decade, engaging in significant e-commerce activity worth “hundreds of dollars” per user annually.

Challenges and Setbacks

Despite lofty ambitions, the metaverse has struggled to deliver on its promises. By late 2022, Horizon Worlds had just 200,000 monthly active users, according to an internal report cited by The Wall Street Journal. Interest in the concept of the metaverse itself waned sharply, as reflected by declining search trends on Google post-2022.

Additionally, Meta’s Reality Labs has faced steep financial losses, amassing $58 billion in operating deficits since 2020. These challenges have cast doubt on the metaverse’s feasibility and its capacity to generate sustainable user growth.

Bright Spots: Augmented Reality (AR)

While the metaverse has yet to gain significant traction, Meta has found success in augmented reality. Its partnership with Ray-Ban on AR glasses has demonstrated potential, offering consumers a taste of the future of wearable technology. These developments suggest that while the metaverse vision might be faltering, AR could represent a more pragmatic near-term focus for the company.

Looking Ahead

As the concept of the metaverse fades from the forefront of public discourse, Meta faces an uphill battle to turn its bold vision into reality. To achieve long-term success, the company must address its user engagement challenges, refine its product offerings, and manage escalating financial losses.

Meta’s next steps may involve recalibrating its strategy to emphasize augmented reality and exploring partnerships that can complement its ecosystem of immersive technologies. The company’s ability to innovate and adapt will determine whether it can revive the metaverse or pivot toward more achievable goals.

Xreal Unveils New AR Glasses with Self-Designed Chip to Compete with Meta and Snap

/in /tarafından

Xreal, a company backed by Alibaba, launched its latest augmented reality (AR) glasses on Wednesday, aiming to rival competitors like Meta and Snap in the growing AR market.

The new Xreal One Series features the X1 chip, the company’s first self-designed processor. This development marks a significant enhancement in the glasses’ capabilities, eliminating the need for a companion device previously required to connect to phones, laptops, or gaming consoles. With the new chip, users can now see their content on a massive digital screen directly in front of them, without relying on external devices like the previous Beam accessory.

Chi Xu, CEO of Xreal, called the X1 chip “the biggest upgrade in Xreal history and probably the biggest upgrade for the entire consumer AR glasses sector,” adding that the three-year development process was crucial for making the product more competitive. Xu emphasized that the company needed a custom chip to unlock new features and differentiate itself from the competition.

Xreal, one of the leading companies in the AR glasses market, faces tough competition from other tech giants like Snap, which introduced new Spectacles in September, and Meta, which continues to push its Meta Ray-Ban partnership. Additionally, Qualcomm is collaborating with Google and Samsung on their own AR glasses.

Unlike Meta’s headsets, which are large and costly, Xreal is betting on glasses as the future of AR for mass-market adoption. “People have started to realize a headset doesn’t make sense, we need to go to lighter form factors to the glasses category,” said Xu. However, he acknowledged that the challenge is delivering a headset-like experience in a much smaller, more portable form factor.

The Xreal One and Xreal One Pro glasses start at $499 and $599, respectively.

Although AR technology has generated a lot of buzz in recent years, the market has yet to explode. High-cost and uncomfortable large headsets have failed to take off, and companies like Xreal and Meta are focusing on making glasses more compelling. However, the lack of content and clear use cases remains a hurdle for wider adoption. Xu stressed that developing good hardware is essential to attracting developers and creating the ecosystem necessary for AR to thrive.

Looking ahead, Xu projected that Xreal will sell 500,000 units of its previous products by 2025, nearly doubling this year’s sales.