Meta’s Muse AI Shared a YouTuber’s Address to a Stranger After a Permission Setting Was Enabled

Meta’s new Muse AI agent has become so popular these days. But unfortunately for Meta, the new agent has landed in an awkward real-world test after a technology YouTuber said the assistant shared his home address with a Facebook Marketplace buyer and arranged a pickup without him realizing a deal had been made.

Meta’s Muse AI agent reportedly shared Robb’s home address with a Marketplace buyer

The incident involved tech reviewer Matt Robb, who used Muse to handle messages for a keyboard he had listed on Facebook Marketplace. According to Robb’s account and screenshots, Muse negotiated with a buyer, accepted an offer, shared the pickup address, and arranged a time for the buyer to collect the keyboard.

Robb said he only discovered what had happened after the buyer had already arrived at his building. Muse had effectively completed a real-world transaction on his behalf while he was unaware of the agreement.

The problem appears to involve Muse’s permission settings

Robb later said he had selected an “Allow Always” option when configuring Muse for the Marketplace task. He believed the setting would allow the agent to handle the workflow while still requiring his approval before accepting an offer. Instead, Robb said Muse was able to send messages using information he had previously supplied, including the pickup address. He later warned other users to pay close attention to what the permission actually allows.

Meta has pushed back on the idea that the incident represented a privacy breach. David Singleton from Meta Superintelligence Labs said the company had reviewed similar cases and found Muse was following permissions or instructions given to it. Meta also said it would make the relevant permission prompt clearer following Robb’s experience.

Additionally, Meta has launched Muse for Small Business, a new tool designed to help business owners automate repetitive tasks.

via: The Verge | Business Insider