Meta Platforms has a message for legislators, investors, and its billions of users: Don't be scared of artificial intelligence. That may be a tough sell.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg penned a 6,500-word essay on Monday outlining an inclusive vision for what Meta calls "superintelligence." Zuckerberg imagined personal AI agents, technology to aid creative and scientific pursuits, and broad, affordable access to these tools -- all through Meta, of course.

He also appeared to take aim at Anthropic and OpenAI, which some tech executives have accused of trying to centralize AI power. The pair didn't respond to Barron's requests for comment.

"Meta is the company primarily focused on building personal superintelligence for everyone. Most other labs are focused on building AI for companies, governments, or other institutions," Zuckerberg wrote.

To that end, the company unveiled an open-weight AI model called Muse Glimmer, which users can run on their own devices. It also announced a $1 billion fund to invest in the communities where it is building data centers.

Meta stock jumped 1.3% on Monday, while the S&P 500 was about flat.

The announcements appeared to be an effort to win the public's trust and establish Meta as a leading voice in the AI boom. But both Meta in particular and the AI industry in general have a public-relations problem that will take more than a letter or even $1 billion to solve.

Concerns over pollution and water and energy consumption have driven a growing backlash against data centers, in some cases leading to state construction moratoriums. Meta plans to invest an estimated $130 billion to $145 billion this year to support its data-center buildout, and analysts expect that number to grow through 2028.

"Communities we invest in over the long term are more supportive of development than communities where speculators start building with minimal investment in the community," Zuckerberg wrote, touting Meta facilities' water- and energy-efficiency.

But opposition to AI extends beyond individual data-center sites. According to a poll by Bentley University and Gallup, 39% of U.S. adults believe AI does more harm than good, up from 31% in 2025. About four in five adults think AI will reduce jobs over the next decade.

AI skepticism is a bigger problem for Meta than for most of its rivals. The company is building enterprise-focused AI tools and may sell data-center capacity, but it remains a consumer-focused internet company at heart. It needs everyday people to actually use those personal AI agents.

It is also worth asking whether Meta is the right messenger for a user-focused vision of AI given its other public-relations challenges. The company faces a flood of lawsuits over social-media addiction and online child protections. Four states are asking for $1.4 trillion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

"The plaintiffs' outlandish calculations have no basis in fact or law," a Meta spokesperson said. "We'll continue to defend ourselves against headline-seeking demands that are untethered from reality."

More than 40% of U.S. adults have very little or no trust in large tech companies, per Gallup, up from less than a quarter in 2020.