Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is making its commercial artificial intelligence (AI) model, Llama, freely available, challenging the dominance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.
The company plans to distribute Llama 2, an upgraded version of the large language model (LLM), through Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, referring to Microsoft as “our preferred partner” for the release.
Llama underpins generative AI products like ChatGPT but has not been open-sourced like OpenAI’s GPT-4.
According to Meta, Llama, which was previously limited to select academics for research purposes, will now be accessible via direct download and through platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Hugging Face.
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Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the importance of open source in driving innovation, stating, “Open source drives innovation because it enables many more developers to build with new technology.” He emphasized the belief that an open ecosystem would foster progress in the field of AI.
Dr. Andrew Rogoyski from the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey acknowledged the division surrounding open-source AI, saying, “There are competing schools of thought about open-sourcing AI.”
Some argue for broad accessibility to democratize AI, while others advocate for withholding AI like nuclear secrets to prevent misuse.
Meta executives expressed confidence that public releases of technologies would enhance safety by leveraging collective wisdom to identify and address potential problems in AI systems.
The introduction of Llama poses a challenge to established players in the generative AI software market, such as OpenAI and Google.
By facilitating the development of an open-source AI ecosystem, Meta aims to disrupt rivals’ revenue streams from proprietary technology, as equally powerful open-source systems become freely available.
Amjad Masad, CEO of software developer platform Replit, noted the impact of open-source models on the market, stating, “Any incremental improvement in open-source models is eating into the market share of closed-source models because you can run them cheaply and have less dependency.”
The release of Llama not only offers collaborative development and cost advantages but also raises concerns about potential misuse and the need for robust safety controls.
To address this, Meta has implemented an “acceptable use” policy for commercial Llama, prohibiting specific applications involving violence, terrorism, and child exploitation.
With its extensive training data and human fine-tuning, Llama is already comparable to existing models from OpenAI and Google.
Its broader availability and continuous improvements present a significant challenge to closed-source models, allowing businesses to leverage advanced AI capabilities at a lower cost and reduced dependency.
Meta’s strategic approach prioritizes crowd-sourcing solutions to reduce infrastructure costs and maximize the creation of consumer-facing tools.
The company aims to benefit from industry-wide adoption and improvements made by other developers.
The release of Llama marks a significant milestone in the generative AI market, potentially reshaping the landscape and offering businesses increased access to advanced AI capabilities at a reduced cost.
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