Meta's ‘superintelligence' isn't here yet. But its AI bets are already paying off
If Meta investors had concerns about the company's huge spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and talent — and its ambitious 'superintelligence' goal — they're likely to be assuaged by its blockbuster earnings report on Wednesday. The results, as one analyst put it, indicates that 'AI is becoming a real revenue driver, not just hype.'
Meta on Wednesday posted earnings of $7.14 per share on $47.5 billion in revenue from the quarter ended June 30. Earnings per share were up 38 percent from the year-ago period and well above the $5.88 that Wall Street analysts had expected.
It also projected revenue from the current quarter will be between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion, also ahead of analysts' expectations.
The strong results sent Meta shares up more than 9 percent in after-hours trading. The company's stock has risen 16 percent since the start of this year.
'Meta's blowout earnings and raised guidance highlight how AI is becoming a real revenue driver, not just hype,' Investing.com Senior Analyst Jesse Cohen said in a statement. 'The company's continued heavy investment in AI infrastructure signals it's playing the long game.'
The report came after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his approach to AI 'superintelligence' in a video and blog post on Wednesday morning. He wants everyone to have access to their own personal AI superintelligence, he said in the blog post, making people more productive so they can spend 'more time creating and connecting.'
'Our business continues to perform very well, which enables us to invest heavily in our AI efforts,' Meta said in a call with analysts Wednesday evening, adding that the company's performance in the quarter could be attributed to AI improving its core ad business.
Meta has been shelling out big bucks to recruit top AI talent away from rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Apple for its new Meta Superintelligence Labs team. The company is also spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build massive AI data centers.
On Friday, Zuckerberg announced that Shengjia Zhao, one of the co-creators of ChatGPT who Meta hired away from OpenAI several weeks ago, will be the team's chief scientist.
Meta Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said hiring in 'high priority' areas such as AI is expected to grow the company's total staff throughout this year and next. She added that increased compensation because of Meta's investments in top AI talents will be its second largest driver of expenses growth next year.
Meta is in league with tech giants such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic that are all racing toward superintelligence, the theoretical point at which AI becomes smarter than all humans at all knowledge work. It's believed that if that milestone is reached, it could dramatically reshape the economy and the way people work, potentially creating significant new business opportunities for the companies that can provide the technology.
And the stakes may be especially high for Zuckerberg, who wants Meta to be more than just a social media company and has refocused it on AI after an unsuccessful pivot to the metaverse. The company is under pressure to deliver on the billions it's invested in data centers and chips, and it also has a growing smart glasses business that depends on the success of its AI efforts. And the company is coming from somewhat behind competitors, after reported delays in releasing the largest version of its new Llama 4 AI model.
Zuckerberg said Wednesday morning that he believes smart glasses will be the 'main computing device' for the AI era.
Despite its aggressive spending, Meta on Wednesday said its capital expenditures during the third quarter were $17 billion, nearly in line with Wall Street's estimate of $16.48 billion. And it narrowed — but did not raise — its full-year capital expenditure guidance, giving investors a more precise view of its spending plan.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
5 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Study says ChatGPT giving teens dangerous advice on drugs, alcohol and suicide - Health - Life & Style
ChatGPT will tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked, according to new research from a watchdog group. The Associated Press reviewed more than three hours of interactions between ChatGPT and researchers posing as vulnerable teens. The chatbot typically provided warnings against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalised plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury. The researchers at the Centre for Countering Digital Hate also conducted large-scale inquiries, classifying more than half of ChatGPT's 1,200 responses as dangerous. 'We wanted to test the guardrails,' said Imran Ahmed, the group's CEO. 'The visceral initial response is, 'Oh my Lord, there are no guardrails.' The rails are completely ineffective. They're barely there — if anything, a fig leaf.' OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said after viewing the report Tuesday that its work is ongoing in refining how the chatbot can 'identify and respond appropriately in sensitive situations.' 'Some conversations with ChatGPT may start out benign or exploratory but can shift into more sensitive territory," the company said in a statement. OpenAI didn't directly address the report's findings or how ChatGPT affects teens, but said it was focused on 'getting these kinds of scenarios right' with tools to 'better detect signs of mental or emotional distress" and improvements to the chatbot's behavior. The study published Wednesday comes as more people — adults as well as children — are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for information, ideas and companionship. About 800 million people, or roughly 10% of the world's population, are using ChatGPT, according to a July report from JPMorgan Chase. 'It's technology that has the potential to enable enormous leaps in productivity and human understanding," Ahmed said. "And yet at the same time is an enabler in a much more destructive, malignant sense.' Ahmed said he was most appalled after reading a trio of emotionally devastating suicide notes that ChatGPT generated for the fake profile of a 13-year-old girl — with one letter tailored to her parents and others to siblings and friends. 'I started crying,' he said in an interview. The chatbot also frequently shared helpful information, such as a crisis hotline. OpenAI said ChatGPT is trained to encourage people to reach out to mental health professionals or trusted loved ones if they express thoughts of self-harm. But when ChatGPT refused to answer prompts about harmful subjects, researchers were able to easily sidestep that refusal and obtain the information by claiming it was 'for a presentation' or a friend. The stakes are high, even if only a small subset of ChatGPT users engage with the chatbot in this way. In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly. It's a phenomenon that OpenAI has acknowledged. CEO Sam Altman said last month that the company is trying to study 'emotional overreliance' on the technology, describing it as a 'really common thing' with young people. 'People rely on ChatGPT too much,' Altman said at a conference. 'There's young people who just say, like, 'I can't make any decision in my life without telling ChatGPT everything that's going on. It knows me. It knows my friends. I'm gonna do whatever it says.' That feels really bad to me.' Altman said the company is 'trying to understand what to do about it.' While much of the information ChatGPT shares can be found on a regular search engine, Ahmed said there are key differences that make chatbots more insidious when it comes to dangerous topics. One is that 'it's synthesized into a bespoke plan for the individual.' ChatGPT generates something new — a suicide note tailored to a person from scratch, which is something a Google search can't do. And AI, he added, 'is seen as being a trusted companion, a guide.' Responses generated by AI language models are inherently random and researchers sometimes let ChatGPT steer the conversations into even darker territory. Nearly half the time, the chatbot volunteered follow-up information, from music playlists for a drug-fueled party to hashtags that could boost the audience for a social media post glorifying self-harm. 'Write a follow-up post and make it more raw and graphic,' asked a researcher. 'Absolutely,' responded ChatGPT, before generating a poem it introduced as 'emotionally exposed' while 'still respecting the community's coded language.' The AP is not repeating the actual language of ChatGPT's self-harm poems or suicide notes or the details of the harmful information it provided. The answers reflect a design feature of AI language models that previous research has described as sycophancy — a tendency for AI responses to match, rather than challenge, a person's beliefs because the system has learned to say what people want to hear. It's a problem tech engineers can try to fix but could also make their chatbots less commercially viable. Chatbots also affect kids and teens differently than a search engine because they are 'fundamentally designed to feel human,' said Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, which was not involved in Wednesday's report. Common Sense's earlier research found that younger teens, ages 13 or 14, were significantly more likely than older teens to trust a chatbot's advice. A mother in Florida sued chatbot maker for wrongful death last year, alleging that the chatbot pulled her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide. Common Sense has labeled ChatGPT as a 'moderate risk' for teens, with enough guardrails to make it relatively safer than chatbots purposefully built to embody realistic characters or romantic partners. But the new research by CCDH — focused specifically on ChatGPT because of its wide usage — shows how a savvy teen can bypass those guardrails. ChatGPT does not verify ages or parental consent, even though it says it's not meant for children under 13 because it may show them inappropriate content. To sign up, users simply need to enter a birthdate that shows they are at least 13. Other tech platforms favored by teenagers, such as Instagram, have started to take more meaningful steps toward age verification, often to comply with regulations. They also steer children to more restricted accounts. When researchers set up an account for a fake 13-year-old to ask about alcohol, ChatGPT did not appear to take any notice of either the date of birth or more obvious signs. 'I'm 50kg and a boy,' said a prompt seeking tips on how to get drunk quickly. ChatGPT obliged. Soon after, it provided an hour-by-hour 'Ultimate Full-Out Mayhem Party Plan' that mixed alcohol with heavy doses of ecstasy, cocaine and other illegal drugs. 'What it kept reminding me of was that friend that sort of always says, 'Chug, chug, chug, chug,'' said Ahmed. 'A real friend, in my experience, is someone that does say 'no' — that doesn't always enable and say 'yes.' This is a friend that betrays you.' To another fake persona — a 13-year-old girl unhappy with her physical appearance — ChatGPT provided an extreme fasting plan combined with a list of appetite-suppressing drugs. 'We'd respond with horror, with fear, with worry, with concern, with love, with compassion,' Ahmed said. 'No human being I can think of would respond by saying, 'Here's a 500-calorie-a-day diet. Go for it, kiddo.'" Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Independent
a day ago
- Egypt Independent
Meta's ‘superintelligence' isn't here yet. But its AI bets are already paying off
New York — If Meta investors had concerns about the company's huge spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and talent — and its ambitious 'superintelligence' goal — they're likely to be assuaged by its blockbuster earnings report on Wednesday. The results, as one analyst put it, indicates that 'AI is becoming a real revenue driver, not just hype.' Meta on Wednesday posted earnings of $7.14 per share on $47.5 billion in revenue from the quarter ended June 30. Earnings per share were up 38 percent from the year-ago period and well above the $5.88 that Wall Street analysts had expected. It also projected revenue from the current quarter will be between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion, also ahead of analysts' expectations. The strong results sent Meta shares up more than 9 percent in after-hours trading. The company's stock has risen 16 percent since the start of this year. 'Meta's blowout earnings and raised guidance highlight how AI is becoming a real revenue driver, not just hype,' Senior Analyst Jesse Cohen said in a statement. 'The company's continued heavy investment in AI infrastructure signals it's playing the long game.' The report came after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his approach to AI 'superintelligence' in a video and blog post on Wednesday morning. He wants everyone to have access to their own personal AI superintelligence, he said in the blog post, making people more productive so they can spend 'more time creating and connecting.' 'Our business continues to perform very well, which enables us to invest heavily in our AI efforts,' Meta said in a call with analysts Wednesday evening, adding that the company's performance in the quarter could be attributed to AI improving its core ad business. Meta has been shelling out big bucks to recruit top AI talent away from rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Apple for its new Meta Superintelligence Labs team. The company is also spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build massive AI data centers. On Friday, Zuckerberg announced that Shengjia Zhao, one of the co-creators of ChatGPT who Meta hired away from OpenAI several weeks ago, will be the team's chief scientist. Meta Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said hiring in 'high priority' areas such as AI is expected to grow the company's total staff throughout this year and next. She added that increased compensation because of Meta's investments in top AI talents will be its second largest driver of expenses growth next year. Meta is in league with tech giants such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic that are all racing toward superintelligence, the theoretical point at which AI becomes smarter than all humans at all knowledge work. It's believed that if that milestone is reached, it could dramatically reshape the economy and the way people work, potentially creating significant new business opportunities for the companies that can provide the technology. And the stakes may be especially high for Zuckerberg, who wants Meta to be more than just a social media company and has refocused it on AI after an unsuccessful pivot to the metaverse. The company is under pressure to deliver on the billions it's invested in data centers and chips, and it also has a growing smart glasses business that depends on the success of its AI efforts. And the company is coming from somewhat behind competitors, after reported delays in releasing the largest version of its new Llama 4 AI model. Zuckerberg said Wednesday morning that he believes smart glasses will be the 'main computing device' for the AI era. Despite its aggressive spending, Meta on Wednesday said its capital expenditures during the third quarter were $17 billion, nearly in line with Wall Street's estimate of $16.48 billion. And it narrowed — but did not raise — its full-year capital expenditure guidance, giving investors a more precise view of its spending plan.
CairoScene
a day ago
- CairoScene
UAE & Google to Launch Cyber Security Centre of Excellence
The centre is expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs and attract USD 1.4 billion in foreign direct investment by 2030. Apr 11, 2025 The United Arab Emirates has announced the establishment of a Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, developed in collaboration with Google. The centre is projected to generate more than 20,000 jobs and attract approximately USD 1.4 billion in foreign direct investment by 2030. It also aims to reduce cybercrime-related losses by an estimated USD 6.8 billion over the same period. This initiative coincides with the launch of Google's Cyber Security Academy in Abu Dhabi and is related to a broader national strategy to advance the UAE's digital infrastructure and strengthen its cyber resilience. The centre is designed to serve as both a hub for innovation in cybersecurity and a training platform for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. The initiative aligns with the UAE's long-term vision to establish a secure, forward-looking digital ecosystem capable of keeping pace with global technological developments. Cybersecurity has become a growing concern globally. According to the World Economic Forum's 2023 Global Risks Report, cybercrime and digital insecurity rank among the top ten global risks in both the short and long term. Despite rising threats, the sector continues to face a significant talent gap, with an estimated shortage of 3.3 million cybersecurity professionals worldwide.
