Meta releases beefed-up AI models

Meta on Thursday introduced an improved AI assistant built on new versions of its open-source Llama large language model.

Meta AI is smarter and faster due to advances in the publicly available Llama 3, the tech titan said in a blog post.

"The bottom line is we believe Meta AI is now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use," Meta co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a video on Instagram.

Being open source means that developers outside of Meta are free to customize Llama 3 as they wish and the company may then incorporate those improvements and insights in an updated version.

"We're excited about the potential that generative AI technology can have for people who use Meta products and for the broader ecosystem," Meta said.

"We also want to make sure we're developing and releasing this technology in a way that anticipates and works to reduce risk."

That effort includes incorporating protections in the way Meta designs and releases Llama models and being cautious when it adds generative AI features to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, according to Meta.

"We're also making Meta AI much easier to use across our apps. We built it into the search box right at the top of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram messenger, so any time you have a question, you can just ask it right there," said Zuckerberg in the video.

AI models, Meta's included, have been known to occasionally go off the rails, giving inaccurate or bizarre responses in episodes referred to as "hallucinations."

Examples shared on social media included Meta AI claiming to have a child in the New York City school system during an online forum conversation.

 Slow and steady