Llama goes military

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What’s in store:

Read Time: 6 minutes

Meta said it is making its Llama AI model available to the U.S. government agencies and contractors working in national security.

This step is meant to address concerns that Meta’s open AI models could be helping foreign adversaries.

Meta mentioned in a blog post that it’s working with major tech and consultancy firms like Accenture, AWS, Deloitte, IBM and Palantir to bring Llama into different government projects.

For instance, Oracle is using Llama to process aircraft maintenance data, Scale AI is tailoring it for security missions, and Lockheed Martin is using it to generate compute code.

Here’s what you should know:

This announcement follows a Reuters report revealing that Chinese researchers connected to the military used an older version, Llama 2, to create a defence-focused chatbot for intelligence and decision-making.

Meta stated this use was “unauthorised” and against its rules, but the report has added to ongoing debates about the pros and cons of open AI models.

The use of AI in defence, whether open or closed, remains controversial.

The AI Now Institute has highlighted the risks of military AI tools, noting their reliance on personal data and issues with bias and errors.

Employees at major tech firms like Google and Microsoft have also protested their companies’ contracts to develop AI for the U.S. military.

Meta is out here trying to let governments play fair… with its LLM.

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Gabor Cselle, former CEO and co-founder of the social media competitor Pebble, has recently joined OpenAI to work on a confidential project.

Another tech visionary joining the AI race. (“Anotha one” DJ Khaled voice)

Cselle started at OpenAI in October, but only announced the news yesterday, saying he’s “learning a lot already” and will share more details later.

Cselle has an impressive background as a serial entrepreneur.

He sold reMail, his mobile mail startup to Google and Namo Media, a native advertising company, to Twitter before Elon Musk took over.

His career includes significant roles at Twitter and Google, where he led projects like Google’s Area 120 incubator.

In 2022, Cselle co-founded Pebble (originally called T2) with Michael Greer, Discord’s former engineering lead.

Pebble focused on user safety and moderation, building a dedicated community with backing from key investors, including Android co-founder Rich Miner.

Despite this, Pebble struggled to grow and shut down last October, later reappearing as a Mastodon instance.

Here are some key findings:

Earlier this year, Cselle joined South Park Commons, exploring generative AI projects, including a tribute to the viral HQ Trivia.

His new role at OpenAI coincides with Anthropic, a competitor, also hiring a high-profile recruit: Alex Rodrigues, founder of the autonomous trucking firm Embark, who is joining as an AI safety researcher.

I wonder what they’re working on. Also, is this just OpenAI building their own social media team now?

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Trust it! - 24%

Nope, keep on scrolling. - 76%✅

Your Views:

“would be immediately a high priority target for chinese and russians” - reller123

“As long as the data used to train the models are accurate and factual, the AI (or machine learning) should be able to provide accurate nob-partisan information. If, however, the data comes from CNN or any of the mainstream media, the, results, will be questionable.” - pxkat

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