Latest news with #FAIR
Atlantic
5 days ago
- Business
- Atlantic
Meta Swears This Time Is Different
Mark Zuckerberg was supposed to win the AI race. Eons before ChatGPT and AlphaGo, when OpenAI did not exist and Google had not yet purchased DeepMind, there was FAIR: Facebook AI Research. In 2013, Facebook tapped one of the 'godfathers' of AI, the legendary computer scientist Yann LeCun, to lead its new division. That year, Zuckerberg personally traveled to one of the world's most prestigious AI conferences to announce FAIR and recruit top scientists to the lab. FAIR has since made a number of significant contributions to AI research, including in the field of computer vision. Although the division was not focused on advancing Facebook's social-networking products per se, the premise seemed to be that new AI tools could eventually support the company's core businesses, perhaps by improving content moderation or image captioning. But for years, Facebook didn't develop AI as a stand-alone, consumer-facing product. Now, in the era of ChatGPT, the company lags behind. Facebook, now called Meta, trails not just OpenAI and Google but also newer firms such as Anthropic, xAI, and DeepSeek—all of which have launched advanced generative-AI models and chatbots over the past few years. In response, Zuckerberg's company quickly launched its own flagship model, Llama, but it has struggled relative to its competitors. In April, Meta proudly rolled out a Llama 4 model that Zuckerberg called a 'beast' —but after an experimental version of the model scored second in the world on a widely used benchmarking test, the version released to the public ranked only 32nd. In the past year, every other top AI lab has released new 'reasoning' models that, thanks to a new training paradigm, are generally much better than previous chatbots at advanced math and coding problems; Meta has yet to deliver its own. So, a dozen years after building FAIR, Meta is effectively starting over. Last month, Zuckerberg went on a new recruiting spree. He hired Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old ex-head of the start-up Scale, as chief AI officer to lead yet another division—dubbed Meta Superintelligence Labs, or MSL—and has reportedly been personally asking top AI researchers to join. The goal of this redo, Zuckerberg wrote in an internal memo to employees, is 'to build towards our vision: personal superintelligence for everyone.' Meta is reportedly attempting to lure top researchers by offering upwards of $100 million in compensation. (The company has contested this reporting; for comparison, LeBron James was paid less than $50 million last year.) More than a dozen researchers from rival companies, mainly OpenAI, have joined Meta's new AI lab so far. Zuckerberg also announced that Meta plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build new data centers to support its pursuit of superintelligence. FAIR will still exist but within the new superintelligence team, meaning Meta has both a chief AI 'scientist' (LeCun) and a chief AI 'officer' (Wang). At the same time, MSL is cloistered off from the rest of Meta in an office space near Zuckerberg himself, according to The New York Times. When I reached out to Meta to ask about its 'superintelligence' overhaul, a spokesperson pointed me to Meta's most recent earnings call, in which Zuckerberg described 'how AI is transforming everything we do' and said that he is 'focused on building full general intelligence.' I also asked about comments made by an outgoing AI researcher at Meta: 'You'll be hard pressed to find someone that really believes in our AI mission,' the researcher wrote in an internal memo, reported in The Information, adding that 'to most, it's not even clear what our mission is.' The spokesperson told me, in response to the memo, 'We're excited about our recent changes, new hires in leadership and research, and continued work to create an ideal environment for revolutionary research.' Meta's superintelligence group may well succeed. Small, well-funded teams have done so before: After a group of former OpenAI researchers peeled off to form Anthropic a few years ago, they quickly emerged as a top AI lab. Elon Musk's xAI was even later to the race, but its Grok chatbot is now one of the most technically impressive AI products around (egregious racism and anti-Semitism notwithstanding). And regardless of how far Meta has fallen behind in the AI race, the company has proved its ability to endure: Meta's stock reached an all-time high earlier this year, and it made more than $17 billion in profit from January through the end of March. Billions of people around the world use its social apps. The company's approach is also different from that of its rivals, which frequently describe generative AI in ideological, quasi-religious terms. Executives at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind are all prone to writing long blog posts or giving long interviews about the future they hope to usher in, and they harbor long-standing philosophical disagreements with one another. Zuckerberg, by comparison, does not appear interested in using AI to transform the world. In his most recent earnings call, he focused on five areas AI is influencing at Meta: advertising, social-media content, online commerce, the Meta AI assistant, and devices, notably smart glasses. The grandest future he described to investors was trapped in today's digital services and conventions: 'We're all going to have an AI that we talk to throughout the day—while we're browsing content on our phones, and eventually as we're going through our days with glasses—and I think this will be one of the most important and valuable services that has ever been created.' Zuckerberg also said that AI-based updates to content recommendations on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have increased the amount of time that users spend on each platform. In this framework, superintelligence may just be a way to keep people hooked on Meta's legacy social-media apps and devices. Initially, it seemed that Meta would take a different path. When the company first entered the generative-AI race, a few months after the launch of ChatGPT, the firm bet big on 'open source' AI software, making its Llama model free for nearly anyone to access, modify, and use. Meta touted this strategy as a way to turn its AI models into an industry standard that would enable widespread innovation and eventually improve Meta's AI offerings. Because open-source software is popular among developers, Zuckerberg claimed, this strategy would help attract top AI talent. Whatever industry standards Zuckerberg was hoping to set, none have come to fruition. In January, the Chinese company DeepSeek released an AI model that was more capable than Llama despite having been developed with far fewer resources. Catching up to OpenAI may now require Meta to leave behind the company's original, bold, and legitimately distinguishing bet on 'open' AI. According to the Times, Meta has internally discussed the possibility of stopping work on its most powerful open-source model ('Behemoth') in favor of a closed model akin to those from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. In his memo to employees, Zuckerberg said that Meta will continue developing Llama while also exploring 'research on our next generation of models to get to the frontier in the next year or so.' The Meta spokesperson pointed me to a 2024 interview in which Zuckerberg explicitly said that although the firm is generally 'pro open source,' he is not committed to releasing all future Meta models in this way. While Zuckerberg figures out the path forward, he will also have to contend with the basic reality that generative AI may alienate some of his users. The company rolled back an early experiment with AI characters after human users found that the bots could easily go off the rails (one such bot, a self-proclaimed 'Black queer momma of 2' that talked about cooking fried chicken and celebrating Kwanzaa, tied itself in knots when a Washington Post columnist asked about its programming); the firm's stand-alone AI app released earlier this year also led many users to unwittingly share ostensibly private conversations to the entire platform. AI-generated media has overwhelmed Facebook and Instagram, turning these platforms into oceans of low-quality, meaningless content known as 'AI slop.' Still, with an estimated 3.4 billion daily users across its platforms, it may be impossible for Meta to fail. Zuckerberg might appear to be burning hundreds of millions of dollars on salaries and much more than that on new hardware, but it's all part of a playbook that has worked before. When Instagram and WhatsApp emerged as potential rivals, he bought them. When TikTok became dominant, Meta added a short-form-video feed to Instagram; when Elon Musk turned Twitter into a white-supremacist hub, Meta launched Threads as an alternative. Quality and innovation have not been the firm's central proposition for many, many years. Before the AI industry obsessed over scaling up its chatbots, scale was Meta's greatest and perhaps only strength: It dominated the market by spending anything to, well, dominate the market.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Tech talent war heats up: Meta poaches Apple AI researchers after OpenAI
Meta, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, recently created a new division called Superintelligence Labs, which will focus on developing artificial general intelligence and work on next-gen large language models. Led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, in the last few days, Meta has been poaching AI experts left and right by offering them multi-million-dollar pay packages. Now, a Bloomberg report suggests that Meta has hired Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, two AI researchers who previously worked at Apple. While Lee has already started working, citing sources familiar with the matter, the report says Gunter will soon be joining Meta. As it turns out, both Lee and Gunter were close to Rouming Pang, the renowned AI researcher who previously led Apple's Foundational Models team and recently joined Meta after the company offered him a multiyear compensation package worth well over $200 million. When Pang worked for Apple, Lee was his first hire. On the other hand, Gunter had made a name for himself at Cupertino and was regarded as one of the most senior employees. Meta's Superintelligence Labs was reportedly created to bring together the company's foundational AI model teams, product teams and the Fundamental AI research (FAIR) division. A few days ago, Wired reported that OpenAI researchers Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung may soon be joining Meta. Wei worked on o3 and deep research models, while Hyung worked on the o1 model and focused on reasoning and agents. These poachings are part of Mark Zuckerberg's plan to expand its Superintelligence Labs division with talent from around the world. In a post on Threads, the Meta CEO said that his company would 'invest hundreds of billions of dollars into compute to build superintelligence', which refers to a form of advanced technology that can do tasks better than humans. In the coming days, tech giants and multi-billion-dollar AI startups like Google, OpenAI and Meta might double down on hiring researchers working on AI by offering them even more lucrative packages.
International Business Times
06-07-2025
- Business
- International Business Times
OpenAI Announces One-Week Mandatory Break Amid Meta Hiring Spree
The AI powerhouse OpenAI has announced a week-long mandatory break this month, citing employee burnout as the reason behind the decision. After months of operating on intense 80-hour workweeks, leadership says the pause is meant to give staff time to rest and recharge. However, the timing of this break is raising eyebrowsacross Silicon Valley. That's because Meta, one of OpenAI's most aggressive competitors in artificial intelligence, is on a hiring binge, and OpenAI workers are prime recruitment material. Meta is reportedly offering signing bonuses of as much as $100 million to star AI researchers and engineers, especially to those who have been trained at OpenAI. In the past few months, several key members have already left OpenAI to join Meta's FAIR division and its newly formed AGI research labs. With burnout running high and better pay on the table, it's easy to see why some might jump ship. Inside OpenAI, the pressure is being felt. In an internal message, Chief Research Officer Mark Chen acknowledged that morale was weakening and fears were growing. CEO Sam Altman pledged better pay and greater recognition and encouraged teams to "keep focused on the mission." But, for some workers, these promises are coming too late. There are growing concerns that Meta may use this break to step up its poaching efforts, given how much of OpenAI's team is now offline. This week off is no exception, as only the executive leadership team will be working during the week the company is shut down, suggesting that this may be more of a defensive strategic posturing than a caring deed. The bigger issue? This is just one more example of a larger problem in the world of AI: the breakneck speed of development and the high-stakes competition for talent. In a course toward artificial general intelligence (AGI), the pressure on employees is only advancing. This shutdown is a moment of crisis for OpenAI, yes, but also a moment of reflection. If it is unable to keep its best talent, it may lose its edge in the AI competition. But if it takes now as its opportunity to rebuild its internal culture and to reimagine its working model, then it will return stronger.
CNBC
30-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Mark Zuckerberg announces creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs. Read the memo
Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday that he's creating Meta Superintelligence Labs, which will be led by some of his company's most recent hires, including Scale AI ex-CEO Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Zuckerberg said the new AI superintelligence unit, MSL, will house the company's various teams working on foundation models, like the open-source Llama software, products and Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) projects, according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC. Bloomberg first reported about the new unit. Meta's co-founder and CEO has been on an AI hiring blitz as he faces fierce competition from rivals like OpenAI and Google. Earlier in June, the company said it would hire Wang, now Meta's chief AI officer, and some of his colleagues as part of a $14.3 billion investment into Scale AI. Meta also hired Friedman and his business partner, Daniel Gross, who was CEO of Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup created by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, CNBC earlier reported. Meta had attempted to buy Safe Superintelligence, but was rebuffed by Sutskever. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a recent podcast that Meta was recruiting AI researchers from his company, offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million. Meta technology chief Andrew Bosworth told CNBC's "Closing Bell Overtime" in an interview on June 20, that OpenAI was countering Meta's offers. "The market is setting a rate here for a level of talent which is really incredible and kind of unprecedented in my 20-year career as a technology executive," Bosworth said. Here is Zuckerberg's full internal memo released on Monday:
Newsweek
27-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
California Proposes Major Insurance Reform
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is pursuing sweeping reforms for California's FAIR plan to stabilize the state's insurer of last resort. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the California Department of Insurance said FAIR Plans' expansion in the last 10 years has revealed "flaws in a system that was never designed to bear the weight it now carries." Under Proposition 103, insurance companies have been allowed to bypass high-risk areas including those prone to wildfires, leaving many homeowners and businesses in the state resorting to the FAIR Plan for coverage. "The FAIR Plan needs to be a temporary option, not the only option," Lara said in the press release. "My top priority is for people to have more choices in a competitive market. And for those unable to find coverage right now, the FAIR Plan needs to provide the services and benefit payouts they deserve, quickly and fully." Why It Matters The reforms come amidst a crisis in California's insurance market, where increasing wildfire risk has led many providers to limit or abandon coverage. The number of policies held on the FAIR Plan, which offers insurance to those who cannot find coverage on the market, has boomed in recent years. As of March 2025, the FAIR Plan's total policies in force is 573,739—a 23 percent increase since September 2024, and a 139 percent increase since September 2021. What To Know Through Lara's Sustainable Insurance Strategy, he is aiming to restore the FAIR Plan to a "temporary solution, not a permanent one," and to give Californians "more options and stronger protections." His reforms include: Expanded coverage : Starting July 26, 2025, the FAIR Plan will temporarily offer high-value commercial coverage—up to $20 million per building and $100 million per location—through 2028, including coverage for HOAs and affordable housing. : Starting July 26, 2025, the FAIR Plan will temporarily offer high-value commercial coverage—up to $20 million per building and $100 million per location—through 2028, including coverage for HOAs and affordable housing. Increased transparency : As of July 1, 2025, the FAIR Plan must publicly report exposures, policy counts, and financial data to inform policymakers and the public. : As of July 1, 2025, the FAIR Plan must publicly report exposures, policy counts, and financial data to inform policymakers and the public. Market stabilization : In response to insurer withdrawals, Lara moved to stabilize the market and on June 23, 2025, urged dismissal of a lawsuit by Consumer Watchdog that he says undermines reform efforts. : In response to insurer withdrawals, Lara moved to stabilize the market and on June 23, 2025, urged dismissal of a lawsuit by Consumer Watchdog that he says undermines reform efforts. Wildfire claims oversight : The Department of Insurance is investigating FAIR Plan responses to smoke damage claims from the Los Angeles wildfires and has directed improvements in staffing and claims handling. : The Department of Insurance is investigating FAIR Plan responses to smoke damage claims from the Los Angeles wildfires and has directed improvements in staffing and claims handling. Operational review : A financial examination report on FAIR Plan operations, based on 2022 recommendations, is expected soon to assess progress on governance and service reforms. : A financial examination report on FAIR Plan operations, based on 2022 recommendations, is expected soon to assess progress on governance and service reforms. New financial tools: Lara has co-sponsored Assembly Bill 226, allowing the FAIR Plan to seek bonds, loans, and credit lines—pending Insurance Commissioner approval—to expand fire insurance access. An aerial view of a mobile home park destroyed by the Palisades Fire on May 7 in Pacific Palisades, California. An aerial view of a mobile home park destroyed by the Palisades Fire on May 7 in Pacific Palisades, California. Justin Sullivan/GETTY What People Are Saying Commissioner Lara said in Wednesday's press release: "Decades of neglect have created a crisis of availability. We want homeowners and business owners to have choices – not just a last resort. We cannot accept the growth of the FAIR Plan as inevitable. My continued reforms create the first-ever requirement for insurance companies to write policies in wildfire-distressed areas if they want to use forward-looking models or the cost of reinsurance in their rates. This is about reforming the limits of Proposition 103 and delivering on the promise of insurance access for every Californian." What Happens Next? Researchers at the comparison website Insurify have estimated that homeowner insurance premiums on the market will continue to rise this year, by as much as 21 percent throughout 2025, with an estimated average annual premium of $2,930, compared to $2,424 paid by California homeowners in 2024.
