Every time I see Facebook’s invitation to turn a photo of myself into a crayon drawing, I have to wonder.
What research did Meta do that convinced them a crayon drawing of an old photo of myself would be just the right lure to get me to try out Muse?
Why would I want that – much less why would I need that?
Muse Image bills itself as “image generation built for your world.”
Your world, as in my world?
I think not.
I would like to believe that at a time when Meta settled a landmark case, mid-trial, to the tune of $17 billion over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed intentionally to be addictive to children and teens, that the focus of the company would be on making their social platforms safer beyond the terms of the settlement – but I know better.
From the precursor to Facebook that Mark Zuckerberg created in his Harvard dorm with the goal of rating classmates’ looks, Meta has done nothing to date to build trust in the user. In fact, it has done just the opposite. And now it wants me to trust it enough to give Muse a try with the lure of crayon drawings.
Not so fast.
“The world’s first personal AI agent built for everyone.”
That is what Meta claims Muse to be. A personal AI agent that does not just pull information for you, but acts for you. An AI assistant who might work the way a human personal assistant does – except this one, you don’t need to buy a Christmas gift for.
Of course, in order to do this, Muse is entrusted with access to your history, calendar, contacts, likes, dislikes, and access to your payment information so it can do things like make an airline reservation for you.
To use Muse, you have to trust Meta, a brand that ranked 96 out of 100 in a 2026 Axios Harris Poll 100 on brand reputation.
The reviews on Muse have been relatively good.
Joanna Stern gave it a fairly positive review, calling it “impressively useful.” Although she did note she used a burner email instead of allowing it access to her own inbox. She was clear that she did not want Muse and consequently Meta exposed to her confidential information.
TechCrunch has reported there have been an estimated 3.4 million downloads since launch.
So people are trying it.
Just not me.
For two reasons.
I have no trust in Meta
After more than a decade of teaching digital marketing and social media, I know too much to trust Meta or any of the other social and tech platforms with more data than is absolutely necessary.
Nor do I trust their intentions – in the end, they will collect as much data about me as they can, with their sole goal of making more money – not as Meta’s mission claims, to “build the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible.”
If anything, Meta has succeeded in helping to create a more polarized society.
I am not interested in an AI agent living my life for me
Zuckerberg has bragged about how his personal Muse, a toga-wearing agent whom he named Agrippa, helped him and his daughter create a recipe and then order the ingredients to make it.
I learned how to cook from watching my mother, who learned from watching her mother, recipes handed down for generations from Greece to the United States. We made a list of ingredients we needed, and when I was old enough, I went to the store by myself and bought them. I learned autonomy and to think for myself. I learned to improvise.
It was the definition of quality time, a real-life shared experience that involved creativity and critical thinking, a memory I carry with me every time I bake one of my mother’s legendary cookie recipes.
The question everyone should be asking
A Muse Charm that one can hold in their hand for easier access to the app is part of the Muse rollout, something I need as much as I need a crayon drawing of myself.
And yet, AI agents, whether for agentic commerce or to run one’s life, as appears to be the goal of Muse, are being pushed as the inevitable future.
Except that it’s not, unless we allow it to be.
Martin Ihrig, Senior Associate Dean at NYUSPS, wrote a post on LinkedIn that brings up an interesting question. If AI and AI agents like Muse can do more for us, what does that do to the human connection and our need for each other?
Friction is part of what makes life interesting. It’s what challenges us. It’s where our creativity thrives. Human connection, intimacy in friendship, and in partnership are what have sustained this planet for thousands of years.
It’s what life is about.
Do we want a world in which we are holding hands with a Muse Charm or one in which we are holding the hand of another living, breathing human?
If we turn it all over to an AI agent who we think is our friend because we gave it a name and an image, is that the future we envision for those who come after?
Is that the world we want to leave behind?
I know my answer is no.
Do you know yours?
This article was originally published on Does This Make Sense? on Substack. Subscribe for free.
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