Meta to Continue AI Tool Releases Despite Alleged Leaks

Meta to Continue AI Tool Releases Despite Alleged Leaks

Meta Platforms Inc. announced it will keep releasing its artificial intelligence tools to approved researchers, despite recent claims on online forums that its newest large language model has been leaked to unauthorized users.

“While the model is not accessible to all, and some have tried to circumvent the approval process, we believe the current release strategy allows us to balance responsibility and openness,” Meta stated.

Meta, which owns Facebook, launched its Large Language Model Meta AI (LLaMA) last month, boasting that it can achieve human-like conversational abilities comparable to AI systems by OpenAI and Alphabet Inc., but with less computing power.

Unlike competitors like OpenAI, which keeps its technology under strict control and charges fees for access, Meta’s AI research arm shares most of its developments openly.

To prevent misuse, such as generating false information, Meta restricts access to its tools, offering them only to vetted researchers and organizations linked to government, academia, and civil society under a non-commercial license.

Claims surfaced last week on 4Chan that the LLaMA model was available for download. However, Reuters could not verify these claims independently.

Meta clarified that the LLaMA release followed the same protocol as earlier models, and it has no plans to alter its strategy. “It’s Meta’s goal to share state-of-the-art AI models with members of the research community to help us evaluate and improve those models,” the company stated.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the creation of a “new top-level product group… focused on generative AI.” This team aims to build “creative and expressive tools” and focus on developing “AI personas that can help people in a variety of ways.”

These AI personas will be integrated into Meta’s apps like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, with plans for “video and multi-modal experiences.”

Zuckerberg noted that developing these AI personas is still a work in progress: “We have a lot of foundational work to do before getting to the really futuristic experiences, but I’m excited about all of the new things we’ll build along the way.”