Facebook parent company Meta Platforms is releasing its own AI system, Llama 2, for free. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a partnership with Microsoft to introduce the next generation of the large language model and make it available for research and commercial use.
While Meta has a research team dedicated to advancing AI technology, it has been overshadowed by the popularity of other AI models like ChatGPT. By offering Llama 2 for free, Meta aims to make a mark in the generative AI space.
Meta has been known for its openness in sharing data and code for AI systems. By open-sourcing Llama 2, Zuckerberg believes it will drive innovation, improve safety and security, and enable more progress in the AI ecosystem.
The research paper introducing Llama 2 provides less openness regarding the data used for training the model. It mentions a mix of publicly available data sources, excluding Meta's own products and services, and data from websites containing personal information.
Llama 2 can be downloaded directly or accessed through Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. Meta's partnership with Microsoft aims to democratize AI and its benefits. Other platforms like Amazon Web Services and AI start-up Hugging Face will also offer access to the models.
Overall, Meta's release of Llama 2 for free highlights its commitment to advancing AI technology and promoting openness in the AI community. It will be interesting to see how this move shapes the future of generative AI.