"Town hall"-style Q&A sessions aren't new to Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Facebook. Almost every week, for the past seven to eight years, Facebook has had internal sessions where employees could pose questions to Zuckerberg on a variety of topics from specific product strategies to the general future of the company.
Last year, however, Facebook decided to take this conversation public and host its first-ever livestreamed town hall session. Yesterday, Zuckerberg once again solicited and answered questions from members of the live audience and around the world regarding the direction in which his company is heading.
What resulted were a few rather honest, sometimes awkward, but mostly informal answers to questions ranging from the company's interest in artificial intelligence to the possibility of a "dislike" button — which was perhaps the most talked-about announcement.
To be specific, Zuckerberg never guaranteed the launch of a "dislike" button, but rather, vocalized a larger need for Facebook's community to be able to express feelings other than flat-out approval — the primary focus being accommodating empathy within the way people interact with information on Facebook.
"Some people have asked for a dislike button to be able to say 'that thing isn't good,' but we don't think that is something that is good for the world so we're not going to build that," says Zuckerberg, clarifying his disinterest in following a Reddit-style model of upvotes and downvotes. "Chances are the word 'dislike' is not even part of the discussions at Facebook. The problem is there is no right answer and dozens of possible wrong answers here. 'Liking' has become such a significant portion of our social vocabulary that to find something equally natural-feeling is difficult — it requires a shift in user behavior."
Although it's been getting a lot of press, the upcoming Facebook button wasn't the only thing discussed at the session. Zuckerberg also has some insight on AI — his primary investment being in the technology's ability to empower education processes and promote global connectivity.
"I'm fundamentally optimistic about human nature," he says regarding the long-term goals and risks of AI. "On the path to any of these kinds of things, there are all these really important advances — being able to diagnose and treat people better with computers, self-driving technology to eliminate car accidents ... I think it can be dangerous to be negative about the prospect of anything long-term."
Zuckerberg also talked about Facebook and Summit's new K-12 education project, aimed at better equipping students at all levels through technology, hands-on learning and personalized learning plans.
(Photo : Facebook)
Regarding privacy issues, although Zuckerberg didn't give any specific updates on policy changes, he did offer this: "It used to be that Facebook was one product, it was this website ... now, Facebook is this company that offers a lot of different services [like Instagram and Whatsapp] ... in making that change from a single product to a handful ... we have to update our policy to let our community know how these products are going to tie together. "
Although a variety of issues were brought up throughout the hour-long sessions, there was a theme that ran underneath everything Zuckerberg said — connectivity and experience. When asked a question about the kind of world he wants to leave his (soon-to-be) daughter, one thing he said resonated with his plans for the company: "a more connected world where the people she loves are always nearby and anyone she wants to learn from is a tap away."
If you were wondering, he did address his rather peculiar fashion preferences, saying that he has different colors in the same shirt, but he only wears them on weekends.
