See more of Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook ||||| Mark Zuckerberg is known for setting himself tough challenges — whether that’s learning Mandarin, promoting equality, or (controversially) trying to solve global Internet access — but this year the Facebook founder just took things to another level. His personal project for 2016 is to bring Jarvis, Iron Man’s trusty digital assistant, to life. 
 
 That isn’t exactly true. Zuck wants to build his own AI (artificial intelligence) bot to help him run his life more efficiently — but he references Jarvis, probably the best example, to explain his lofty ambition. 
 
 Here’s what Zuckerberg said: 
 
 My personal challenge for 2016 is to build a simple AI to run my home and help me with my work. You can think of it kind of like Jarvis in Iron Man. I’m going to start by exploring what technology is already out there. Then I’ll start teaching it to understand my voice to control everything in our home — music, lights, temperature and so on. I’ll teach it to let friends in by looking at their faces when they ring the doorbell. I’ll teach it to let me know if anything is going on in Max’s room that I need to check on when I’m not with her. On the work side, it’ll help me visualize data in VR to help me build better services and lead my organizations more effectively. 
 
 This is hardly a small side project, by any means. It’ll be interesting to see how much time and what resources that Zuckerberg dedicates to this project, and how it turns out. Maybe he can develop Iron Man’s suit in 2017? 
 
 So, what is your personal project for 2016? Lol.
– Mark Zuckerberg has set himself a tough challenge for 2016: Create an electronic butler to make Mark Zuckerberg's life easier. The Facebook founder says he plans to "build a simple AI to run my home and help me with my work," which he likens to Jarvis in Iron Man. "I'm going to start by exploring what technology is already out there," he writes in a Facebook post. "Then I'll start teaching it to understand my voice to control everything in our home—music, lights, temperature and so on. I'll teach it to let friends in by looking at their faces when they ring the doorbell. I'll teach it to let me know if anything is going on in Max's room that I need to check on when I'm not with her," he writes, referring to his weeks-old daughter. Zuckerberg explains that he sets himself a new challenge every year, which has led him to "read two books every month, learn Mandarin and meet a new person every day." Even for somebody with Zuckerberg's resources, the AI assistant is "hardly a small side project by any means," notes Jon Russell at TechCrunch. "It'll be interesting to see how much time and what resources ... Zuckerberg dedicates to this project, and how it turns out," he writes, suggesting that Zuckerberg try building Iron Man's actual metal suit next year. (The Facebook founder has promised that the site will fight for the rights of Muslims.)