Mark Zuckerberg insists Facebook is not a media company
Facebook is a technology company, not a media company, despite a move towards live video, working closely with traditional publishers and a recent furore over trending topics on the platform.
Speaking at a live question and answer session in Italy, Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook is providing the tools for people to be able to share information but is not itself a media company or publisher.
"We're proud of being a tech company and not a media company," said the social network founder and chief executive on a trip to Europe where he also met with the Pope and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
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The statement follows change to the trending topics section of Facebook, reducing the amount of human involvement in the area seen on all users' accounts following criticism that editors were bias. Facebook is also among the digital platforms sucking up more and more advertising cash from traditional media
The entrepreneur also revealed he would soon show off the fruits of months of work on his new year resolution – an artificial intelligence that he can use to control his home which he described as an AI butler.
The demo, which can already control lights, temperature and the gates of his California home, will be ready next month.
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"I've been looking at speech recognition and face recognition and I've loved sharing this with Facebook engineers and seeing one day how far that's going to go," he said.
At a meeting at the Vatican alongside his wife Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg gave Pope Francis a model of Facebook's new solar powered drone Aquila which will bring internet access to remote areas of the world.