Meta Offers Resources to Researchers Working in AI

Meta is offering access to resources that will help researchers working in artificial intelligence (AI).

The company is inviting applications to use its Large Language Model Meta AI (LLaMA), which requires less computing power and is designed for researchers whose access to infrastructure is limited, Meta said in a Friday (Feb. 24) blog post.

“Over the last year, large language models — natural language processing (NLP) systems with billions of parameters — have shown new capabilities to generate creative text, solve mathematical theorems, predict protein structures, answer reading comprehension questions and more,” Meta said in the post. “They are one of the clearest cases of the substantial potential benefits AI can offer at scale to billions of people.”

LLaMA is designed to allow more researchers greater access to large language models to better understand how they work, how they can be improved and how known issues can be mitigated, according to the post.

It’s also designed to be versatile — rather than finely tuned for a specific application — so that researchers can explore different use cases and test new approaches, the post said.

Meta will grant access to LLaMA on a case-by-case basis to prevent misuse, per the post.

“We believe that the entire AI community — academic researchers, civil society, policymakers and industry — must work together to develop clear guidelines around responsible AI in general and responsible large language models in particular,” Meta said in the post. “We look forward to seeing what the community can learn — and eventually build — using LLaMA.”

The Meta announcement comes shortly after Microsoft said it is pulling back on its generative AI chatbot — an AI solution that made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It also comes a day after it was reported that JPMorgan Chase has restricted its global staff’s use of ChatGPT — OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot that has taken social media by storm and put AI in the headlines — because of compliance concerns around the use of third-party software.

On the other hand, OpenAI and Bain & Company announced Tuesday (Feb. 21) that they have formed a global services alliance to help enterprise clients realize the value of AI in such uses cases as providing scripts for contact centers, developing ad copy for marketers and generating digital communication for financial advisers.