On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg posted he was hunting for someone to give to his AI project, JARVIS, a voice on his Facebook account. Veteran actor and Avengers’ star, Robert Downey Jr. (who plays Tony Stark, JARVIS’ original owner), asked for the role.
The 51-year-old performer claimed he would do it ‘in a heartbeat’ with the condition that any profits from the project would go to Paul Bettany (who voiced JARVIS and currently plays Vision in the Marvel movies).
Bettany would later have to donate it to a cause chosen by Benedict Cumberbatch, who will portray Doctor Strange.
Though Zuckerberg then replied to Downey’s comment with the phrase ‘this just got real,’ it is not official yet. The comment has gotten thousands of likes.
The origin of Mark Zuckerberg’s JARVIS
JARVIS is an artificial intelligence robot who has served as the companion for fictional billionaire Tony Stark since its introduction to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in the first installment of Iron Man.
The idea for a robot companion is a modern interpretation of a comic book character called Edwin Jarvis, Tony Stark’s butler. He first appeared in print in 1964. Edwin Jarvis holds a similar role to Bruce Wayne’s Alfred.
On January 3rd, Mark Zuckerberg posted an update stating his desire to build a simple AI that could run the house and help him with his work.
He then went on to explain he would teach this hypothetical assistant to understand his voice and follow his commands, watch over his daughter Max, and help him with his work using VR technology.
Who else could voice Zuckerberg’s AI assistant
As of today, neither Downey nor Zuckerberg has made any further comments regarding the JARVIS project.
Facebook users answered to Zuckerberg’s post suggesting many other possible celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Judi Dench, Morgan Freeman, the Dalai Lama, among others.
The social network, which has expanded its reach to become a leading technological R&D enterprise, already has an AI research program appropriately called FAIR (FAcebook’s AI Research).
Source: Facebook