![A 3D beach environment with a picnic table and hydrofoil.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KBpdT7SbODDWYVXNsI8BtXrF2FI=/201x0:2328x1418/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70541150/Screen_Shot_2022_02_23_at_11.25.39_AM.0.png)

Meta

Meta is testing an artificial intelligence system that lets people build parts of virtual worlds by describing them, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off a prototype at a live event today. Proof of the concept, called Builder Bot, could eventually draw more people into Meta’s Horizon “metaverse” virtual reality experiences. It could also advance creative AI tech that powers machine-generated art.

In a prerecorded demo video, Zuckerberg walked viewers through the process of making a virtual space with Builder Bot, starting with commands like “let’s go to the beach,” which prompts the bot to create a cartoonish 3D landscape of sand and water around him. (Zuckerberg describes this as “all AI-generated.”) Later commands range from broad...