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F8 2019 developer conference Day 2: Everything Facebook announced

On the second day of Facebook's biggest event of the year, the company discussed efforts to weed out bad behavior using artificial intelligence.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
Ian Sherr
James Martin

Facebook's F8 developer conference got its name because there are eight letters in "Facebook." But read it another way, and it's "fate," something Facebook has had a hard time with these days. 

Beset by scandal, Facebook has an opportunity for a reset at its developer conference this week. At the very least, it's a chance for the company's executives to chart a way out of this mess.

On Tuesday, CEO  Mark Zuckerberg  announced new messaging services, plans to ship the new $399 Oculus Quest and $399 Oculus Rift S headsets next month, and a new privacy-focused mantra for his company.

On Wednesday, one of his top lieutenants, CTO Mike Schroepfer, spoke about the company's artificial intelligence advancements. Last year, that meant using AI to take on harassment, while also teaching it to more easily recognize photographs. This year, it meant showing off how the Facebook Portal camera tracks people in a room, and how AI identifies explicit images and hate speech.

Here's all the Wednesday news from F8. You can read about everything announced on Day 1, here.

Originally published April 29, 5 a.m. PT.
Update, April 30, 12:20 p.m.: Adds details from Day 1's announcements; May 1, 5 a.m.: Adds details about Facebook's livestream site; 1:59 p.m. PT: Adds details about what was announced during the show.