The Godfather of Artificial Intelligence, Yann LeCun, leaves Meta and starts his own company

Just a few weeks ago, one of the “godfathers” of artificial intelligence was being delivered at St James’s Palace Award from King Charles For his work in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Professor Yan was honored along with six other laureates for his contributions to the field, which are credited with the development of deep learning.

But to be at odds with some workers in the world of artificial intelligence about the future of the technology that defines the generation.

Now he’s going all in on his idea for “advanced machine intelligence” after announcing he’s leaving his position as chief AI scientist at Meta to start a new company.

During his 12 years at the company, Prof. Licon He won the prestigious Turing Award It has seen many waves of excitement around AI – not least the recent boom in generative AI which was accelerated by ChatGPT competitor OpenAI’s launch in late 2022.

But his departure comes amid speculation that the AI ​​boom could meet an abrupt end if the so-called “AI bubble” of inflated valuations and soaring spending bursts.

Investors, analysts and Even the heads of major tech companies like Google CEO Sundar Pichai They said a market correction for the AI ​​sector would have an impact on the broader economy.

Professor Lacon announced his scheduled departure from Meta on Wednesday after more than a week of rumors and reports of his exit.

In a series of posts on Threads, company founder Mark Zuckerberg thanked and highlighted the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab as his “proudest non-technical accomplishment.”

“As many of you have heard through rumors or recent media articles, I plan to leave Meta after 12 years: 5 years as Founding Director of FAIR and 7 years as Chief AI Scientist.” books.

“FAIR’s impact on the company, on the AI ​​field, on the technology community, and on the broader world has been amazing.”

Over the years, the lab has focused on developing systems and technologies to enhance machine learning and translation.

But, like large parts of the sector, Meta has sought to focus much of the company’s research and spending on large language models (LLMs) — the systems that lie at the heart of generative AI tools like chatbots and image generators.

Professor LeCun suggested that LLM holders would be less useful in trying to create AI systems that can match human intelligence.

Instead, he wants to pursue what he calls “advanced machine intelligence.”

It trains AI models primarily using visual learning – trying to replicate the way a child or small animal learns.

This is different from an MBA, which is fed massive amounts of existing data, and is then asked to generate a result based on the data and the prompt.

He said that Professor Licon will remain in a relationship with Mita once his new company is established. Add in posts about his passing He will be a partner in his new company.

But reports indicate that he is increasingly moving away from the approach the company wants to take.

Unlike his fellow AI godfathers Geoffrey Hinton and Joshua Bengio, Professor LeCun cast doubt on the idea that AI might pose an existential threat to humanity.

In 2023, he described these concerns as “unreasonably ridiculous.”

“Will artificial intelligence take over the world? No, this is a projection of human nature onto machines.” He told the BBC.

But some also questioned Professor Licon’s description of him as an outsider or visionary in the industry.

“Jan LeCun has, without a doubt, made real contributions to AI, and I’m glad to see him once again speaking out about the limitations of the MBA,” said AI expert and professor Gary Marcus. In a recent blog.

“But he also systematically ignored and ignored the work of others for years,” he added, including himself among those whose work he noted Professor Lacon had often ignored.