内容来源：https://www.wired.com/story/meta-muse-is-adults-only-why-does-it-look-like-a-cute-kids-toy/

内容总结：

Meta公司为其AI智能体推出的吉祥物“Jolly”引发广泛争议。该吉祥物外形圆润可爱，酷似儿童玩具，用户可像给玩偶换装一样为其搭配服饰。在Meta Connect大会上，CEO扎克伯格展示的Muse吉祥物身穿古罗马长袍、头戴桂冠；Instagram广告中，该吉祥物则身着运动装备，宣传健身功能。Meta计划于今年晚些时候推出一款类似电子宠物Tamagotchi的Muse角色设备。尽管Muse凭借完成数字任务的能力登顶应用排行榜，其类似潮玩Labubu的吉祥物形象也使其紧贴文化潮流，但外界质疑的核心在于：为何一款仅限18岁以上用户使用的产品，外观却与精心设计的儿童玩具如出一辙？

Meta发言人Daniel Roberts回应称，用户希望创建具有个性和独特风格的头像，因为“这很有趣，能带来快乐”。公司要求所有Muse应用用户提供出生日期，并屏蔽检测到可能未满18岁者创建账户。Meta超级智能实验室产品管理副总裁Mona Sarantakos在博客中表示，Muse的设计刻意突出“愉悦感”，旨在让用户感觉比与“企业标识或实体”聊天更自然。

儿童权益倡导者对此表示反对。非营利组织Fairplay执行主任Josh Golin直言：“天哪，它看起来像天线宝宝。这明显是一个会吸引幼儿的角色。”他指出，研究儿童媒体的人都知道，圆润造型尤其吸引学龄前儿童。但Jolly的吸引力并不局限于幼儿。32岁的旧金山居民、本文作者也坦言被其可爱美学吸引。哈佛商学院研究AI伴侣的副教授Julian De Freitas指出，这类可爱元素能让产品显得温暖、减少威胁感，“他们需要跨越很高的门槛，因为在社会成瘾裁决后，人们对Meta的态度相当负面。”今年8月，Meta就社交媒体成瘾指控达成和解，同意在Instagram和Facebook上为青少年增加限制功能，并支付最高167亿美元。

也有专家认为，这一设计未必意在吸引儿童，而是延续日本长期利用可爱角色营销科技的传统。从微软Clippy到近期OpenClaw的红色龙虾，AI助手常以拟人化角色出现。但无论年龄，一个毛绒可爱的AI形象都可能让人放松警惕，甚至忘记隐私问题。例如，除非用户主动退出，Meta会利用用户在Muse中的互动训练其AI模型。

澳大利亚莫纳什大学新兴技术研究实验室副教授Jathan Sadowski指出：“可爱、无摩擦的设计，或唤起对不常监视和干预我们生活的设备的怀旧感，都是让人放下戒备、停止提出关键问题、滑向被动使用的狡猾手段。”研究显示，采用AI智能体可能使人更加被动。Meta表示将于2026年晚些时候发布“机密”版虚拟机，可“以加密方式可验证地阻止”Meta访问用户数据。

即便如此，成年人信任AI智能体仍存在风险。华盛顿大学教授Ryan Calo将其比作度假时聘请导游——你依赖他们作为你与体验之间的中介，却未必知道他们从谁那里拿回扣，以及团队去某家餐厅是否仅因导游与老板是朋友。随着假期临近、Meta推出类似Tamagotchi的Muse Charm设备，儿童权益倡导者保持高度警惕。Golin表示：“这感觉像是Meta试图让幼儿迷上Muse的完全不当之举。家庭应该说不，监管机构也应认真审视。”

中文翻译：

Meta的Muse吉祥物名叫Jolly。它是Meta AI代理的一个可爱、适合拥抱的化身，你可以随心所欲地给它打扮——就像给娃娃换装一样。在公司最近的Meta Connect大会上，CEO马克·扎克伯格的毛绒版Muse身穿托加袍、头戴月桂冠。在我看到的Instagram上Muse的广告中，这个吉祥物穿着运动装备，吹嘘能帮我实现健身目标。今年晚些时候，Meta计划为你的Muse角色推出一款拓麻歌子风格的设备。整体风格非常“卡哇伊”。

尽管Muse完成数字任务的能力让它飙升至应用排行榜榜首，但它那个与Labubu风格相近的吉祥物才真正让这个代理搭上了文化潮流的快车。Meta首席AI官亚历山大·王最近不停地发布Jolly的表情包，有时还配上暗示性的场景。让我始终困惑的是，为什么一款面向成年人的产品——Muse仅限18岁及以上用户使用——看起来却像一个设计精良的儿童玩具。

“这是一个在寻找故事的故事，”Meta发言人丹尼尔·罗伯茨对《连线》表示。“人们希望能够创建拥有个性和独特风格的自己的虚拟形象，因为这很有趣，能给他们带来快乐。我们要求所有使用Muse应用的人提供出生日期，我们会阻止检测到可能未满18岁的人创建账户，并且我们会进行额外核查，以帮助确保那些声称自己是成年人的人确实已满18岁。”

Meta超级智能实验室产品管理副总裁莫娜·萨兰塔科斯在Muse发布前后参与撰写的一篇博客文章中，将Muse的设计过程描述为着重“令人愉悦”的元素，意在让用户感觉比与“一个企业标志或实体”聊天更自然。

youth倡导者们已经开始对Meta的Muse吉祥物发起反击。“天哪，它看起来像个天线宝宝，”Fairplay的执行董事乔什·戈林说。Fairplay是一家此前曾游说反对Meta针对儿童投放广告的非营利组织。“它显然是一个会吸引非常年幼儿童的角色，”他说。“研究儿童媒体的人都知道，那些圆润的造型尤其吸引学龄前年龄段的孩子。”

Jolly的吸引力并不仅限于穿尿布的小朋友。Muse吉祥物那可爱的审美也吸引了我——一个住在旧金山的32岁男人。这种品牌形象可能会让各个年龄段的人放下戒备，尤其是在对Meta和生成式AI的强烈反对持续引起许多美国人共鸣的当下。

“这类可爱元素可以让产品显得温暖、不那么具有威胁性，”哈佛大学市场营销学副教授朱利安·德弗雷塔斯说，他专注于研究AI伴侣。“他们在这里必须克服很高的门槛，因为在社交媒体成瘾裁决之后，人们对Meta的态度相当负面。”今年8月，Meta就社交媒体成瘾相关指控达成和解，同意在Instagram和Facebook上为青少年增加限制性功能，并支付最高达167亿美元。

我采访的一些专家不太认同这种设计是为了吸引儿童的说法，他们将Muse的吉祥物与日本长期以来广泛依赖可爱角色来营销技术的传统相提并论。Meta的做法也并非独一无二。从微软Clippy烦人的啾啾声到最近红色外壳的OpenClaw龙虾，AI助手往往都围绕拟人化角色展开。

无论你年龄多大，一个代表AI工具的毛绒生物都能让人放下戒备，甚至可能让你忘记隐私问题。例如，除非你选择退出，否则Meta会用你在Muse中的互动来训练其AI模型。

“可爱、无摩擦的设计特征，或者利用人们对那些不会时刻监视和干预我们生活的设备的怀旧情绪，都是让人放松警惕、停止提出关键问题、滑入被动用户状态的狡猾手段，”澳大利亚莫纳什大学新兴技术研究实验室副教授贾森·萨多夫斯基说。“像Muse这样的代理试图让我们相信它们只是一个住在你口袋里的可爱小家伙，绝对不是一家大型监控公司服务器的永远敞开的入口。”研究表明，采用AI代理可能会让你变得更加被动。

Meta表示将在2026年晚些时候发布一款“机密”版本的虚拟机，用于为Muse提供算力支持。这一选项可以“通过密码学可验证地阻止”Meta访问用户数据。

即便如此，当成年人决定信任一个AI代理时，仍然存在一定程度的风险，远不止潜在的隐私问题。华盛顿大学教授、该校技术政策实验室联合创始人瑞安·卡洛将使用代理比作度假时雇一个导游。你依赖他们作为你和体验之间的中介，却不一定知道他们从谁那里拿回扣，以及团队去某家餐厅只是因为导游和老板是朋友。

随着假期临近，Meta推出其类似拓麻歌子的设备Muse Charm， youth倡导者们仍保持高度警惕。

“这确实感觉像是Meta试图让小孩子迷上Muse的完全不合适的尝试，”戈林说。“这是家庭应该拒绝的东西，我认为这也是监管机构应该认真审视的东西。”

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英文来源：

Meta’s Muse mascot is named Jolly. It's an adorable, cuddly representation of Meta’s AI agent that you can dress however you want—like a doll. At the company’s recent Meta Connect event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s furry Muse donned a toga and laurel wreath. In Instagram ads I saw for Muse, the mascot wore exercise gear and boasted about helping with my fitness goals. Later this year, Meta plans to sell a Tamagotchi-style device for your Muse character. It’s all very kawaii-coded.
Although Muse’s ability to complete digital tasks rocketed it to the top of the app charts, its Labubu-adjacent mascot latched this agent onto the cultural zeitgeist. Alexandr Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, recently posted nonstop memes of Jolly, sometimes in suggestive situations. What remains perplexing to me is why a product for adults—Muse is restricted to those 18 and over—looks just like a well-designed children’s toy.
"This is a story in search of a story,” Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts tells WIRED. “People want to be able to create their own avatar with personality and unique style, because it's fun and brings them joy. We require everyone using the Muse app to provide their date of birth, we block people we detect may be under 18 from creating an account, and we do additional checks to help ensure people who say they're adults are actually over 18.”
Mona Sarantakos, vice president of Product Management at Meta Superintelligence Labs, describes the design process for Muse as leaning into “delightful” elements and meant to feel less awkward than chatting with “a corporate logo or entity," in a blog post she co-authored around Muse's release.
Youth advocates are already pushing back against Meta’s Muse mascot. “Oh my God, it looks like a Teletubby,” says Josh Golin, an executive director at Fairplay, a nonprofit that previously lobbied against Meta’s targeting of children. “It’s so clearly a character that would appeal to very young children,” he says. “People who study children’s media understand that those rounded shapes particularly appeal to kids in the preschool age.”
Jolly’s appeal is not limited to those in diapers. The adorable aesthetic of Muse’s mascot also draws me in, a 32-year-old man living in San Francisco. The branding may disarm people of all ages, especially since the backlash against Meta and generative AI continues to resonate with many Americans.
“These types of cute factors can make the product seem warm and less threatening,” says Julian De Freitas, an associate professor of marketing at Harvard who focuses on AI companions. “There’s a high bar that they have to overcome here, because attitudes toward Meta are quite negative after the social addiction rulings.” In August, Meta settled claims regarding social media addiction, agreeing to add restrictive features for teens on Instagram and Facebook as well as paying out up to $16.7 billion.
Some experts I spoke with were less convinced this design was meant to appeal to children, comparing Muse’s mascot to Japan’s long history of broadly relying on adorable characters to market technology. Meta’s approach is not unique either. From the annoying chirping of Microsoft’s Clippy to the more recent red-shelled OpenClaw lobster, AI assistants often revolve around anthropomorphized characters.
No matter your age, a cuddly creature representing an AI tool can be disarming, even to the point where you might forget about privacy concerns. For example, Meta trains its AI models on your Muse interactions unless you opt out.
“Design features like being cute and frictionless, or tapping into nostalgia for devices that didn’t constantly surveil and intervene in our lives, are sly ways to make people drop their guard, stop asking critical questions, and slip into being passive users,” says Jathan Sadowski, an associate professor with the Emerging Technologies Research Lab at Australia’s Monash University. “Agents like Muse are trying to convince us they’re just a cute little guy who lives in your pocket, and definitely not an always-open portal into the servers of a major surveillance company.” Research suggests that adopting AI agents could make you more passive.
Meta says it will release a “confidential” version of its virtual machine that helps power Muse later in 2026. This option could “cryptographically and verifiably prevent” Meta from accessing a user’s data.
Even so, a level of risk remains when adults decide to trust an AI agent, going beyond potential privacy concerns. Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington and faculty cofounder of its Tech Policy Lab, compares using agents to hiring a tour guide when you’re on vacation. You’re relying on them as the intermediary between you and the experience, without necessarily knowing who they are getting kickbacks from and which restaurant the group is visiting only because the guide and the owners are friends.
As the holidays roll around soon and Meta launches Muse Charm, its Tamagotchi-like device, youth advocates are remaining on red alert.
“This really feels like a completely inappropriate attempt by Meta to get young kids hooked on Muse,” Golin says. “This is something that families should say no to, and I think it's something that regulators should take a hard look at.”
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