Meta Platforms isn't slowing down. After scoring with its Muse agent, the social-media company is going after the next prize in artificial-intelligence-a mass-market AI device. It's a tricky proposition but the company can afford to take a risk.

Meta is making waves at its industry conference this week. Along with new smart glasses, CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off a keychain-style gadget housing the company's Muse AI mascot, on Wednesday. Called the Muse Charm, it was reminiscent of the Tamagotchi virtual-pet device of the 1990s (remember those?).

On Thursday, Meta's stock price surged 4.5%, with its total market value approaching $2 trillion.

There's a lot we don't know about the Muse Charm right now. We don't know its price or how many Meta hopes to sell, although we do know it will go on sale this December. Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth called it an "exploration" product in an interview with Bloomberg, suggesting the company is unsure about its appeal.

Meta's caution is wise. The Muse Charm looks similar to a range of other AI-powered pendants, pins, badges and other wearables that are designed to allow users to constantly talk to their digital assistant, as well as take photos or video and play music.

Here's the rub-all of those devices have flopped. The highest profile was the $700 Humane AI Pin, launched in 2023. Dogged by issues such as overheating and poor battery life, its developer subsequently wound down its business. As it turns out, users still prefer to use their smartphones for almost everything, including AI.

Luckily for Meta, it likely doesn't matter. The company has plowed billions of dollars into building virtual-reality hardware in the hope of making its Metaverse vision come true, with relatively little to show for it. But the company's base of 3.6 billion daily active users across its platforms and huge advertising revenue means it can always bounce back.

There is every chance the Muse Charm joins the Apple Newton or Google Glasses in the ranks of hardware failures. But as those companies have shown, one flop is nothing fatal.