The advent of ChatGPT marked the initial foray of generative AI into the mainstream, taking the world by storm. However, its unexpected success reportedly caught rival companies, including Google, off guard, leading to internal concerns and declarations of a code red.
As ChatGPT gained prominence, Google found itself in an unexpected competition and was reportedly taken aback. Internally, the situation was deemed a code red, reflecting the urgency and seriousness of the newfound challenge.
Meta, focusing on its mixed-reality metaverse ambitions, also felt the impact of ChatGPT’s success. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg received warnings that the dominance of Facebook and Instagram could wane unless a competitive response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT was swiftly developed.
Dr LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist, cautioned Zuckerberg about OpenAI’s advancements. The warning emphasized the need for Meta to match OpenAI’s technology and delve into creating an AI assistant capable of internet-related tasks, foreseeing potential obsolescence for platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Zuckerberg eventually aligned with Dr. LeCun’s perspective, leading to the creation of the LLaMa model, or Large Language Model Meta AI, by Meta’s Paris team. This marked the beginning of Meta’s sustained investment in AI, with the subsequent release of the next-generation LLaMa model, Llama 2.
Meta released Llama 2 as open source, allowing free access for both commercial and research purposes. However, acknowledging its relative limitations compared to competitors like Google’s Bard and OpenAI’s GPT-4, Meta maintained its commitment to AI development.
In addition to Llama 2, Meta expanded its AI endeavours by introducing various products, including the Meta AI chatbot. This chatbot is set to be available across Meta apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and in the future, integrated into Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest 3.
