Meta’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, delivered a speech at the Meta Connect event held at Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California on September 27, 2023. In his address, Zuckerberg expressed his ambition to pioneer advanced artificial intelligence technologies, a venture that has sparked concerns among industry experts.
In a Facebook post dated January 18, Zuckerberg outlined his plans for developing AI tools, emphasizing Meta’s overarching goal of creating general intelligence, sharing it openly and responsibly, and making it accessible to all. He highlighted the consolidation of Meta’s key AI research initiatives, FAIR and GenAI, to support this vision.
Zuckerberg disclosed that his team is currently engaged in training their model, Llama 3, and constructing a robust computer infrastructure. He also expressed enthusiasm for the progress made in developing innovative AI-centric devices such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
This announcement follows Meta’s release of an open-source iteration of Llama 2, a large-language AI model, in 2023. Concurrently, the company introduced Meta AI, a conversational assistant available on popular platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, positioning it as a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, as reported by The Hill.
Despite Zuckerberg’s enthusiasm, some AI experts have voiced reservations about his AI initiatives. Wendy Hall, a prominent UK-based computer scientist affiliated with the United Nations’ AI advisory panel, expressed apprehension, deeming Zuckerberg’s plans “very scary” due to potential misuse risks. Similarly, Andrew Rogoyski, an AI expert from the University of Surrey in England, suggested that regulatory bodies, not Meta, should determine the safety of open-sourcing AI, according to The New York Post.
Major tech players including Google, Meta, and Microsoft, alongside AI-focused startups like Open AI, have been at the forefront of driving innovation in AI technology. Notably, President Joe Biden issued an executive order last year to guide the development of artificial intelligence, aiming to ensure its constructive application and mitigate potential harm, as per the Associated Press.
