Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has announced the company's commitment to making open-source artificial intelligence (AI) the industry standard with the release of their latest AI model, Llama 3.1.
On July 23, Zuckerberg described this new model as the "first frontier-level open source AI model."
He compared the rise of open-source AI to the transition from the closed-source Unix to the open-source Linux, stating, "I believe that AI will develop in a similar way. Today, several tech companies are developing leading closed models. But open source is quickly closing the gap."
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Zuckerberg highlighted that the benefits of open-source AI include customization, independence from closed vendors, better data protection, efficiency, and affordability.
Discussing the broader impact of open-source AI, he said:
Open source will ensure that more people around the world have access to the benefits and opportunities of AI, that power isn't concentrated in the hands of a small number of companies, and that the technology can be deployed more evenly and safely across society.
Llama 3.1 boasts 405 billion parameters, surpassing earlier versions but still behind models like OpenAI's GPT-4, which has about one trillion parameters. However, Zuckerberg expects future versions of Llama to become "the most advanced in the industry," emphasizing that even now, Meta's AI is unmatched in openness, modifiability, and cost efficiency.
Zuckerberg believes the launch of this model will be a turning point in the AI industry, with most developers moving towards open-source AI models.
In other news, Zuckerberg has previously discussed the revolutionary potential of Meta's smart glasses with holographic displays, predicting they could eventually reduce society's reliance on smartphones.