Mark Zuckerberg

I built the $50 AI Tamagotchi Meta wants you to buy

Mark Zuckerberg wants you to carry a jolly AI helper around like a Tamagotchi this holiday season, and Meta made it look stinking cute with a squishy little face. The Muse Charm costs real money, though, and I won't be buying one. Because we have Muse Charm at home. My version cost $50, and I decided the learning experience was worth it. No cameras. No 5G cellular radio. But it really talks to Muse, has cute avatars, doubles as a pocket watch and a remote camera viewfinder, and can theoretically control my smart home if you inject a lot of extra vibe code. Weeks of tinkering later, it's the kind of scrappy, curious project that makes you wonder what else hides in a $50 bill.