The Facebook manager is called “Boz” internally.
(Photo: dpa)
Menlo Park Andrew Bosworth is rarely seen without glasses these days. For example, when Facebook’s hardware boss presented “Ray Ban Stories” two weeks ago – sunglasses with a camera, for which the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is cooperating with the brand of the Italian eyewear giant Luxottica. On his LinkedIn profile picture, the brawny bald man Bosworth, known internally as “Boz”, pushed his in-house VR glasses “Oculus Quest 2” onto his forehead.
So far, Bosworth has been Mark Zuckerberg’s man in charge of the devices, and in future he will be responsible for technology throughout the group. In the course of the coming year, he will succeed Mike Schroepfer, who has been Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer since 2013 and will take on a role as a “Senior Fellow”, where he will continue to drive Facebook’s initiatives in the development of artificial intelligence.
The change is a massive turning point for Facebook: Schroepfer, known internally as “Schrep”, has been responsible for Facebook’s huge technical infrastructure since 2013. Among other things, he was responsible for the development of algorithms that are supposed to filter out hate messages or political influence on elections by anti-democratic regimes.
Just last week, a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal revealed that Facebook is far from being able to master political radicalism or anti-vaccination propaganda on its platforms.
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It is unlikely that such quarrels are the immediate reason for Schroepfer’s withdrawal. After all, Facebook has been the subject of constant criticism for many years. The fact that the change does not take place abruptly and Schroepfer should stay with the company speaks against it. However, Schroepfer is not the first top manager to withdraw from Facebook’s front row: The French Fidji Simo, who, as head of the Facebook network, practically managed Zuckerberg’s legacy, recently moved to the top of the food delivery service Instacart. The head of Facebook’s advertising business, Carolyn Everson, also moved there as president.
Internet blog post by Bosworth made headlines
39-year-old Bosworth is one of Zuckerberg’s closest confidants. The manager – Twitterhandle @boztank (“Boz-Panzer”) – sometimes aggressively defends his company in the face of constant criticism. In 2016, an internal blog post by Bosworth made headlines, calling on Facebook employees to come to terms with the “ugly truth” that Facebook’s mission to connect people also costs lives. All in all, Facebook’s pursuit of growth is still good because it brings more people into contact with one another.
Bosworth has spent most of his career on Facebook. He met Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard, where he attended a scientific exercise on artificial intelligence with the somewhat older Bosworth. After a short trip to Microsoft, Zuckerberg, now a Harvard dropout, hired Bosworth in 2006. There the computer scientist developed the news feed, the center of the Facebook pages for almost three billion users.
His promotion gives a twofold indication of where Zuckerberg sees the future of the group: On the one hand, he reacts sharply to public criticism in recent years rather than apologetically – that is more in line with Bosworth’s style than that of the quiet Schroepfer.
On the other hand, smart devices are becoming increasingly important in Facebook’s strategy. Zuckerberg sees virtual reality as the next big internet platform. So far, the group has been at the mercy of the app store providers Apple and Google. Apple in particular is damaging Facebook’s advertising business, which is based on the analysis of user data, with its stricter privacy rules.
On the other hand, Facebook can set its own rules on its own devices. Bosworth’s hardware unit has advanced. The video telephones “Portal” are selling well, and Facebook has just introduced the first portable device. The “Oculus Quest 2” glasses are considered to be the first VR glasses suitable for the masses.
Zuckerberg has announced that it will turn Facebook into a Metaversum group – a virtual world in which diverse experiences should be possible. Bosworth is the man who is supposed to lead Facebook on Zuckerberg’s side into this new world.
More: The network overflows with hatred and agitation. The EU wants to take action against this, but the German government insists on red lines and makes a compromise more difficult.