當(dāng)Facebook的首席執(zhí)行官馬克·扎克伯格決定認(rèn)真看待增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)的那一刻,，他找到了他最信任的高管,、昵稱為“博茲”的安德魯·博斯沃思。

博斯沃思曾經(jīng)帶領(lǐng)Facebook實(shí)現(xiàn)過一些重大突破,。他在Facebook核心的移動(dòng)廣告策略及商業(yè)招牌News Feed的面世上扮演了關(guān)鍵角色,。作為扎克伯格在哈佛大學(xué)時(shí)的助教，博斯沃思如今負(fù)責(zé)提高增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)對(duì)普通用戶的吸引力,，他從2018年8月起開始執(zhí)掌這個(gè)部門,。

博斯沃思的團(tuán)隊(duì)主管Oculus虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)頭盔,、Portal視頻會(huì)議中心和智能手機(jī)的增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)濾鏡等產(chǎn)品,。他們還在開發(fā)增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)眼鏡等長(zhǎng)期產(chǎn)品，計(jì)劃用其實(shí)現(xiàn)打電話和直播視頻等功能,。此外,，該團(tuán)隊(duì)還在研究可以讓用戶利用腦電波控制設(shè)備的未來主義技術(shù)。

迄今為止,，這個(gè)項(xiàng)目還沒能產(chǎn)生太大收益,。公司透露2018年的硬件銷售額為8.25億美元，其中包括支付和其他費(fèi)用,。這在公司整體558億美元的銷售額中顯得微不足道,。

但無論如何，F(xiàn)acebook仍然在繼續(xù)向博斯沃思的團(tuán)隊(duì)投入大量資金,。團(tuán)隊(duì)在舊金山灣區(qū)至少有4,000名員工,，還有一些員工分布在全球各地。

博斯沃思認(rèn)為,，如果Facebook不利用這些新技術(shù)領(lǐng)路,，就會(huì)錯(cuò)失為Facebook用戶開發(fā)量身打造的新一代硬件的良機(jī)。

以下內(nèi)容因篇幅或清晰度原因有所刪改,。

《財(cái)富》：您調(diào)入增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)/虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)部門背后有什么故事,？

博斯沃思：兩年前的7月，我在休第二個(gè)孩子的陪產(chǎn)假,。馬克當(dāng)時(shí)在我家里,，抱著我三四周大的女兒。他突然說：“你應(yīng)該去做增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)/虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí),?！蔽艺f：“首先你得把我女兒放下，這個(gè)人質(zhì)太重要了?！?/p>

我有些懷疑論者的特質(zhì),。這些是很艱難的挑戰(zhàn)，要花費(fèi)很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間,。我說：“好吧,，我會(huì)考慮的?！彼f：“我猜你可以考慮一下,。”

是什么讓你下定了決心,？

我在休陪產(chǎn)假前負(fù)責(zé)的那支團(tuán)隊(duì)已經(jīng)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)良好,。另一個(gè)原因就是馬克對(duì)投資水平十分重視，所以我們就去做了,。

當(dāng)時(shí),，公司在這個(gè)方向甚至都沒有一整支團(tuán)隊(duì)，而是由不同隊(duì)伍拼湊成的雜牌軍,。我在接下這一角色后,，開始著手整合它們。我們有點(diǎn)像在倒退,，從我認(rèn)為這些技術(shù)在投資方面的重點(diǎn)所在開始,。我們開發(fā)的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)不應(yīng)該僅為游戲服務(wù)，而必須讓人們展開合作,，重新定義人們的體驗(yàn)和溝通方式,。馬克同意我的看法。

考慮到Facebook在用戶隱私上的不良記錄,，你認(rèn)為公司向消費(fèi)者銷售增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)/虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)產(chǎn)品時(shí)會(huì)不會(huì)更加困難,？

作為一家機(jī)構(gòu)，F(xiàn)acebook必須贏得人們的信賴,。我們知道這點(diǎn),。不過整個(gè)行業(yè)都需要贏得人們的信賴。你要把產(chǎn)品放在人們的臉上,。整個(gè)行業(yè)必須幫助人們理解這些（設(shè)備）擁有感應(yīng)器,。

在推廣新硬件上，你面臨的最大挑戰(zhàn)是什么,？

最大的挑戰(zhàn)是讓消費(fèi)者的反饋回路運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)起來——知道哪些對(duì)他們有用,，哪些對(duì)他們沒用。你如果通過網(wǎng)頁和移動(dòng)設(shè)備推出了軟件,，幾乎立刻就能夠看到人們的使用情況,。你可以迅速行動(dòng)起來改善技術(shù),，讓它成為消費(fèi)者想要的樣子。但在硬件領(lǐng)域,，這個(gè)回路要慢得多,。

你在增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)/虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)技術(shù)上與馬克的合作有多密切？

每天聯(lián)系,，我確實(shí)有自主權(quán),。他對(duì)這項(xiàng)工作熱情很高，所以我們其實(shí)是在合作,。我一周和他匯報(bào)幾次,。各階段的理念和產(chǎn)品塑造都有他的功勞。他是團(tuán)隊(duì)的成員之一,。他不是以首席執(zhí)行官的身份加入的,。你得尊敬馬克的直覺，它在很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間里都是一盞相當(dāng)高效的指路明燈,。

你對(duì)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)有什么看法,？

針對(duì)增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)的投資極多。技術(shù)專家越多,，有人找到結(jié)合特色與軟件的途徑,，為消費(fèi)者創(chuàng)生價(jià)值的可能性就越高,。有了這些平臺(tái),，我們就有空間促進(jìn)人類的進(jìn)一步交流。競(jìng)爭(zhēng)也能夠讓我們從其他人的錯(cuò)誤和成功中吸取經(jīng)驗(yàn),，反之亦然,。

對(duì)于Facebook在增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)/虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)方面的努力感到懷疑的人，你有什么想說的,？

我們可以用正在開展的工作向他們表明這項(xiàng)技術(shù)是真實(shí)的,。人們或許不記得Facebook曾經(jīng)做出過調(diào)整，以適應(yīng)技術(shù)變革,，最著名的一次是2012年向移動(dòng)端的轉(zhuǎn)型,。我們?cè)?jīng)是一家網(wǎng)頁公司。如今我們成功地利用移動(dòng)平臺(tái)將人們聯(lián)系在一起,。（增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)/虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)）是另一次……平臺(tái)變革,。Facebook在改變消費(fèi)者觀念上一貫表現(xiàn)出色。

對(duì)于增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)眼鏡這類新型硬件產(chǎn)品,，公司的投入有多少,？

我們做了很大的努力。一直以來,，馬克考慮周到的一點(diǎn)在于他會(huì)組建一支足夠規(guī)模的團(tuán)隊(duì)來完成目標(biāo),。如果人手不足，你只是在浪費(fèi)每個(gè)人的時(shí)間。我們?cè)谶@個(gè)愿景上密切協(xié)作,，試圖打造一支規(guī)模合適的團(tuán)隊(duì)來實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目,。

對(duì)于未來，人們應(yīng)該知道些什么,？

我們的抱負(fù)比表面看起來更加宏大,。我們以Portal和Oculus為豪，但它們只是我們目標(biāo)中的一小部分,，我們希望努力開創(chuàng)以人類溝通為核心的新一代平臺(tái),。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got serious about augmented and virtual reality, he turned to one of his most trusted executives, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth.

Bosworth had already led some of Facebook’s biggest developments. He played pivotal roles in debuting the company’s core News Feed, its mobile ad strategy, and its commerce tab. Now Bosworth, formerly Zuckerberg’s teaching assistant at Harvard, is tasked with making AR and VR appealing to average consumers. He took charge of the unit in August 2018.

Bosworth’s team oversees products including Oculus virtual reality headsets, Portal video conferencing hubs, and augmented reality filters for smartphones. The unit is also working on longer-term projects like AR glasses that, when introduced, are supposed to do things like make phone calls and live stream what user’s see. It’s also working on futuristic technology that would let users control devices using brain signals.

For now, the push isn't bringing in much money. In 2018, the company said it had $825 million in revenue from hardware sales, along with payments and other fees. That only represents a sliver of Facebook’s overall $55.8 billion in sales.

Regardless, Facebook continues to fork out a lot of money for Bosworth’s team. At least 4,000 people work for it in the Bay Area, plus more elsewhere around the world.

Bosworth argues that if Facebook didn’t lead the way with these new technologies, it would miss its chance to create a new generation of hardware specifically designed for Facebook users.

The following has been edited for length and clarity:

Fortune: What’s the backstory to your move to the AR/VR unit?

Bosworth: Two years ago in July, I was on paternity leave with my second child. Mark was over at the house holding my daughter, who at that point was three or four weeks old. Kind of out of the blue he said, “You should come work on AR/VR.” I said, “First, you have to give my daughter back. That’s too much leverage.”

I was a bit of a skeptic. These are hard challenges, and it’s going to take a long time. I said, “Well, I’ll think about it.” And he said, “I guess you can think about it.”

What convinced you?

The team I had in place while I was on paternity leave was executing really well. The second was Mark was really serious about the investment level, and so we went for it.

At the time, there wasn’t a single team. It was a collection of different teams. When I took the role, we consolidated the pieces into one. We kind of worked backward from what I thought was important about these technologies to get to the scope of the investment. This can’t be VR only for gaming. It has to be for people to collaborate, to remap how people feel and connect. Mark agreed with me.

Do you think it will be harder for Facebook to sell consumers AR/VR products given its spotty history with user privacy?

As an organization, Facebook has to earn people’s trust. We know that. But the entire category has to earn people’s trust. You’re putting a thing on someone’s face. The entire category has to do this work to help people understand that these [devices] have sensors.

What are your greatest challenges as it relates to introducing new hardware?

The hardest challenge is getting a consumer feedback loop going—knowing what’s working and not working for them. Coming from web and mobile, you put software out and get to see people use it almost immediately. You could move so quickly in advancing the technology and making it what consumers want it to be. In hardware, that flip is much slower.

How closely do you work with Mark on AR/VR?

Day to day, I do have autonomy. He is enthusiastic about this work, so we really are partnering. I’m talking to him multiple times a week. He’s at every stage helping shape the ideas, shape the products. He’s a member of the team. He’s not coming in as the CEO. You respect Mark’s intuition. It has been a pretty effective guiding light for a long time.

What’s your take on the competition?

There’s a tremendous amount of investment in augmented reality and virtual reality. The more technologists, the more likely it is someone will find the combination of features and software and form factor that unlocks the value for consumers. Once these platforms exist, that’s room for us to foster greater human connection. It also allows us to learn from others’ mistakes and successes, as they will from ours.

What do you say to skeptics of the progress of Facebook’s AR/VR efforts?

It’s on us to show them with the work we’re doing that the tech is real. People forget that Facebook has adapted to technological change, most famously in 2012 with the shift to mobile. We were a website company. Now we’re successfully using the mobile platform to connect people. [AR/VR] is another … platform shift. Facebook has a good track record of changing the consumer landscape.

How much investment is going into new hardware products like AR glasses?

It’s a big effort. One of the things that Mark has always been thoughtful about is putting together a large enough team to accomplish the goal. If there are not enough people, you’re just wasting everyone’s time. We work close together on the vision and try to build a team that’s the right size to accomplish that.

What should people know about the future?

The scope of our ambition is so much bigger than what’s on the surface. We’re proud of Portal and Oculus, but those represent only a portion of what we’re trying to accomplish, which is to pioneer a generation of platforms that put human connection at the center.