Zuckerberg plans public tech discussions

Mark Zuckerberg is to hold a series of public discussions on the subject of technology and its future in society.

The Facebook boss plans to tackle issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs, free speech on the net and the growth of online communities.

He said he would talk to "leaders, experts, and people in our community".

Every year Mr Zuckerberg sets himself challenges, which in the past have included running 365 miles, visiting every US state and learning Mandarin.

He admitted that he would find the discussions - his challenge for 2019 - taxing.

"I'm an engineer and I used to just build out my ideas and hope they'd mostly speak for themselves," he wrote on his Facebook page, where he announced the news.

"But given the importance of what we do, that doesn't cut it anymore.

"So, I'm going to put myself out there more than I've been comfortable with and engage more in some of these debates about the future, the tradeoffs we face and where we want to go."

He said the discussions would be viewable either on Facebook or Instagram or "other media".