I predict that Meta won’t kill Horizon entirely. They’ll likely scale back investments in the Quest headset version, their developer programs, and brand partnerships while maintaining or even investing more in the mobile app.
If Meta’s Horizon mobile app follows the Roblox trajectory, divesting from some metaverse investments while focusing more on mobile might keep kids in harmful products while a “metaverse failure” narrative dominates headlines and distracts regulators, we may not notice until the next round of lawsuits, the next congressional hearing, the next whistleblower, the next child harmed.
Until regulators hold Big Tech to a duty of care, and while states are preempted from enacting their own regulations for kids safety and AI, Meta’s got carte blanche to continue running experiments that harm kids with impunity, whether chasing the metaverse or superintelligence.
And spinning it however will best serve the company and their shareholders.
Whether burning $70 billion on the Metaverse, or pouring $70 billion into AI, the story is not about the pivot but the pattern: build fast, suppress concern, buy protection, spin PR, move on.
If Meta’s Horizon mobile app follows the Roblox trajectory, divesting from some metaverse investments while focusing more on mobile might keep kids in harmful products while a “metaverse failure” narrative dominates headlines and distracts regulators, we may not notice until the next round of lawsuits, the next congressional hearing, the next whistleblower, the next child harmed.
Until regulators hold Big Tech to a duty of care, and while states are preempted from enacting their own regulations for kids safety and AI, Meta’s got carte blanche to continue running experiments that harm kids with impunity, whether chasing the metaverse or superintelligence. And spinning it however will best serve the company and their shareholders.
Whether burning $70 billion on the Metaverse, or pouring $70 billion into AI, the story is not about the pivot but the pattern: build fast, suppress concern, buy protection, spin PR, move on.