Mark Zuckerberg has revealed his annual personal challenge: he wants to have visited and met people in every US state by the end of 2017, in an effort to better understand the "division" he feels is growing between people that use the social network he founded.
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The Facebook CEO challenges himself to meet a self-betterment goal at the start of each year. Prior challenges have involved his reading 25 books, running 365 miles, learning Mandarin and, in 2016, building a simple AI to control his home.
In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said the new challenge was inspired by his desire to "make the most positive impact as the world enters an important new period".
"After a tumultuous last year, my hope for this challenge is to get out and talk to more people about how they're living, working and thinking about the future", he wrote.
"For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected. This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging. This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime. We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone".
Since Zuckerberg has already travelled extensively to many US states, he says he has a list of around 30 remaining to get to by the end of the year. His visits will take various forms including road trips with his wife Priscilla Chan, stops in small towns and universities, meetings with teachers and scientists as well as visits to places suggested by Facebook users.
As well as helping him see how Facebook — and its push into new technologies like artificial intelligence, automation and virtually reality — is regarded by people across the US, Zuckerberg hopes listening to diverse viewpoints will help guide his philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
