Is it too late for Oscar nominations? Mark Zuckerberg’s video about his AI home assistant is out, and the Facebook CEO shows off acting chops that just might be award-worthy.
OK, so maybe not the Oscars. More like the Razzies.
Zuckerberg, as he promised Monday, reveals who the voice of his handy-dandy artificial-intelligence friend is. And it’s none other than the voice of God — Morgan Freeman.
Zuckerberg also said he’s experimenting with other voices, so you’ll hear another familiar voice in the video. (Especially if you live in California or liked the “Terminator” movies.)
Before the unveiling of Jarvis — an app modeled after the AI assistant in the “Iron Man” films — Robert Downey Jr. had volunteered to be the voice for it. That’s right, Iron Man himself.
But Zuckerberg just happened to run into Freeman at the recent Breakthrough Awards in Silicon Valley, and called him afterward to ask him to be the voice of Jarvis, whose creation was one of Zuckerberg’s personal challenges for the year. (The other was to run 365 miles.).
“I said, ‘Hey, I posted this thing, and…thousands of people want you to be the voice. Will you do it?’ ” Zuckerberg told Fast Company. A while back, Zuckerberg had solicited input on Facebook about who should be the voice of Jarvis, which as the video shows helps Zuckerberg and his wife control the lights, music, toaster and other appliances in their home.
The video also shows Zuckerberg’s daughter, Max, being “entertained” in Mandarin by Jarvis. And Zuckerberg getting really stoked when it throws a fresh gray T-shirt at him. We don’t want to spoil it for you… watch the video below.
Fast Company notes that Facebook doesn’t reveal whether Freeman is being paid to be the voice of Jarvis.
Perhaps it’s a gift from God.
Photo at top: Mark Zuckerberg in 2015. (LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images)