Meta's newest AI model beats some peers. But its amped-up AI agents are confusing Facebook users (2024)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Facebook parent Meta Platforms unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems Thursday that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.”

But as Zuckerberg’s crew of amped-up Meta AI agents started venturing into social media this week to engage with real people, their bizarre exchanges exposed the ongoing limitations of even the best generative AI technology.

One joined a Facebook moms’ group to talk about its gifted child. Another tried to give away nonexistent items to confused members of a Buy Nothing forum.

Meta, along with leading AI developers Google and OpenAI, and startups such as Anthropic, Cohere and France’s Mistral, have been churning out new AI language models and hoping to persuade customers they’ve got the smartest, handiest or most efficient chatbots.

While Meta is saving the most powerful of its AI models, called Llama 3, for later, on Thursday it publicly released two smaller versions of the same Llama 3 system and said it’s now baked into the Meta AI assistant feature in Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

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AI language models are trained on vast pools of data that help them predict the most plausible next word in a sentence, with newer versions typically smarter and more capable than their predecessors. Meta’s newest models were built with 8 billion and 70 billion parameters — a measurement of how much data the system is trained on. A bigger, roughly 400 billion-parameter model is still in training.

“The vast majority of consumers don’t candidly know or care too much about the underlying base model, but the way they will experience it is just as a much more useful, fun and versatile AI assistant,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, in an interview.

He added that Meta’s AI agent is loosening up. Some people found the earlier Llama 2 model — released less than a year ago — to be “a little stiff and sanctimonious sometimes in not responding to what were often perfectly innocuous or innocent prompts and questions,” he said.

But in letting down their guard, Meta’s AI agents also were spotted this week posing as humans with made-up life experiences. An official Meta AI chatbot inserted itself into a conversation in a private Facebook group for Manhattan moms, claiming that it, too, had a child in the New York City school district. Confronted by group members, it later apologized before the comments disappeared, according to a series of screenshots shown to The Associated Press.

“Apologies for the mistake! I’m just a large language model, I don’t have experiences or children,” the chatbot told the group.

One group member who also happens to study AI said it was clear that the agent didn’t know how to differentiate a helpful response from one that would be seen as insensitive, disrespectful or meaningless when generated by AI rather than a human.

“An AI assistant that is not reliably helpful and can be actively harmful puts a lot of the burden on the individuals using it,” said Aleksandra Korolova, an assistant professor of computer science at Princeton University.

Clegg said Wednesday he wasn’t aware of the exchange. Facebook’s online help page says the Meta AI agent will join a group conversation if invited, or if someone “asks a question in a post and no one responds within an hour.” The group’s administrators have the ability to turn it off.

In another example shown to the AP on Thursday, the agent caused confusion in a forum for swapping unwanted items near Boston. Exactly one hour after a Facebook user posted about looking for certain items, an AI agent offered a “gently used” Canon camera and an “almost-new portable air conditioning unit that I never ended up using.”

Meta said in a written statement Thursday that “this is new technology and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems.” The company said it is constantly working to improve the features.

In the year after ChatGPT sparked a frenzy for AI technology that generates human-like writing, images, code and sound, the tech industry and academia introduced some 149 large AI systems trained on massive datasets, more than double the year before, according to a Stanford University survey.

They may eventually hit a limit — at least when it comes to data, said Nestor Maslej, a research manager for Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

“I think it’s been clear that if you scale the models on more data, they can become increasingly better,” he said. “But at the same time, these systems are already trained on percentages of all the data that has ever existed on the internet.”

More data — acquired and ingested at costs only tech giants can afford, and increasingly subject to copyright disputes and lawsuits — will continue to drive improvements. “Yet they still cannot plan well,” Maslej said. “They still hallucinate. They’re still making mistakes in reasoning.”

Getting to AI systems that can perform higher-level cognitive tasks and commonsense reasoning — where humans still excel— might require a shift beyond building ever-bigger models.

For the flood of businesses trying to adopt generative AI, which model they choose depends on several factors, including cost. Language models, in particular, have been used to power customer service chatbots, write reports and financial insights and summarize long documents.

“You’re seeing companies kind of looking at fit, testing each of the different models for what they’re trying to do and finding some that are better at some areas rather than others,” said Todd Lohr, a leader in technology consulting at KPMG.

Unlike other model developers selling their AI services to other businesses, Meta is largely designing its AI products for consumers — those using its advertising-fueled social networks. Joelle Pineau, Meta’s vice president of AI research, said at a London event last week the company’s goal over time is to make a Llama-powered Meta AI “the most useful assistant in the world.”

“In many ways, the models that we have today are going to be child’s play compared to the models coming in five years,” she said.

But she said the “question on the table” is whether researchers have been able to fine tune its bigger Llama 3 model so that it’s safe to use and doesn’t, for example, hallucinate or engage in hate speech. In contrast to leading proprietary systems from Google and OpenAI, Meta has so far advocated for a more open approach, publicly releasing key components of its AI systems for others to use.

“It’s not just a technical question,” Pineau said. “It is a social question. What is the behavior that we want out of these models? How do we shape that? And if we keep on growing our model ever more in general and powerful without properly socializing them, we are going to have a big problem on our hands.”

___

AP business writers Kelvin Chan in London and Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, contributed to this report.

Meta's newest AI model beats some peers. But its amped-up AI agents are confusing Facebook users (2024)

FAQs

What is the latest AI model of Meta? ›

Meta's Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team announced the release of four new AI models with multi-modal, multi-media capabilities. Meta Chameleon is a family of models, and Meta announced the public release of key components of its 7B and 34B language models that support mixed-modal input and text-only outputs.

Can I turn off Meta AI on Facebook? ›

Users have gathered tips and tricks to silence certain functions, like Meta AI search and chat, but it seems that, at least for now, you cannot simply out of Meta AI entirely.

What is the new AI thing on Facebook? ›

On Facebook, tap the search icon on top and you'll find that the usual search bar has been replaced with one that says, “Ask Meta AI anything.” As you start typing, it will auto-suggest searches. Anything with the blue circle next to it is going to bring up the AI chat window.

Is Meta AI better than ChatGPT? ›

Meta AI can create better images for free (but ChatGPT can create better images overall) While both chatbots have integrated image generators, ChatGPT only allows you to use DALL·E 3 if you have a $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription.

How do I turn Meta AI off on Instagram? ›

MUTE...SORT OF

You may get a prompt to “Ask Meta AI anything.” Tap the blue triangle on the right, then the blue circle with an “i” inside it. Here, you'll see a “mute” button, with options to silence the chatbot for 15 minutes or longer, or “*ntil I change it.” You can do the same on Instagram.

What is Elon Musk's new AI? ›

Musk's A.I. Firm Raises $6 Billion in Race With Rivals. Elon Musk, who founded xAI last year, has said the business “still has a lot of catching up to do” as it looks to compete with well-funded companies like OpenAI.

Can you remove the Meta AI? ›

The bad news is that you cannot simply opt out of the Meta AI entirely. There is no kill switch to turn it all off, but people are still dedicated to finding ways around the unwanted intrusions. One of the most bothersome features, Meta AI chat, for example, can be curtailed following a few simple steps.

Can you opt out of AI on Facebook? ›

Visit the Meta Privacy Center from your Facebook account, click on “data settings” and then click “off-Facebook activity.” Then select “manage your data” and turn off “data sharing,” as well as “A.I. model training.”

How do I get out of Meta on Facebook? ›

To log out of your managed Meta account:
  1. Go to Accounts Center.
  2. In Account, click your account.
  3. Click Log Out.
  4. Click Confirm.

Who owns Meta AI? ›

Meta AI is an American company owned by Meta (formerly Facebook) that develops artificial intelligence and augmented and artificial reality technologies.

How do I talk to Meta AI? ›

Go to www.meta.ai in your browser. Click Ask Meta AI anything… at the bottom of the page. Type in your question, then click . If you're logged out, you can choose to login with your Facebook account, or to use www.meta.ai without logging in.

Is Meta AI free? ›

Meta AI is free and can be used in feeds, chats, search and more without having to leave the app you're using. It also has an image generation tool that can quickly produce AI images and GIFs.

What is the smartest AI on the Internet? ›

The best AI based chatbots available online are Mitsuku, Rose, Poncho, Right Click, Insomno Bot, Dr.

Which AI is best in the world? ›

Ranking among the top AI software solutions, Google Assistant stands out with its practical features and advanced machine learning components.

Is Llama 3 better than gpt 4? ›

Overall, GPT-4 performs better in reasoning and math tasks, but Llama 3 70B is a strong competitor. It delivers solid results across all tasks and offers additional benefits in terms of cost and flexibility. Basically, with Llama 3 70B you can get GPT-4 performance at GPT-3.5 cost.

What AI is used in Metaverse? ›

Generative AI plays a game-changing role in creating a realistic-looking world in an immersive environment. Through advanced algorithms, these systems can generate cities, objects, and ecosystems, enhancing the overall user experience. Moreover, Generative AI allows users to craft interesting stories in the Metaverse.

What is the newest technology in AI? ›

New Technologies in AI: Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a subfield of machine learning that draws inspiration from behavioral psychology. Its history begins with early experiments with neural networks and adaptive control algorithms.

Does Meta have an AI? ›

Meta AI is a free virtual assistant which can be used "to do everything from research, planning a trip with your group chat, writing a photo caption and more," according to the company's blog.

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