Zuckerberg aims to rival OpenAI, Google with new Llama AI model
LA TimesMeta Platforms Inc. uses its Llama models to power its AI chatbot, called Meta AI, which operates inside its apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp, and also as a separate web product. Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. debuted a new and powerful AI model that Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said will rival similar offerings from competitors such as OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. “On the flip side, I actually think all the companies that are investing are making a rational decision, because the downside of being behind is that you’re out of position for like the most important technology for the next 10 to 15 years.” After all the investment, Meta makes the technology behind Llama available for the public to use for free, so long as users adhere to the company’s “acceptable use policy.” Zuckerberg hopes the open-access strategy will help make the company’s work the foundation of other successful startups and products, giving Meta greater sway in how the industry moves forward. “If AI is going to be as important in the future as mobile platforms are, then I just don’t want to be in the position where we’re accessing AI through” a competitor, said Zuckerberg, who has long been frustrated with Meta’s reliance on distributing its social media apps on phones and operating systems from Google and Apple Inc. “We’re a technology company and we need to be able to kind of build stuff not just at the app layer but all the way down.