A lot of the people featured in this story came from Microsoft. Folks at Microsoft/Facebook - any ideas as to why that is? Is it just that Microsoft is a huge and dominant institution in computing so probability wise a lot of people naturally would have backgrounds which came from Microsoft? Is it because Microsoft is (or were??) leaders in ML/AI and it is has recently become a FB focus area, so lots of hiring of Microsoft talent?
The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
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Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's where we're going now then? My hardware is used to run your code for your benefit, the scraps of which I can only hope to see should I be so blessed by the gods at Facebook?
Yes, it is also your data they train their AI on. For free. What you get back is more relevant ads err content err you stay longer attached to the ad screen err to your phone.
> more relevant ads
They seem to think we find this valuable.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, it is also your data they train their AI on. For free. What you get back is more relevant ads err content err you stay longer attached to the ad screen err to your phone.
> more relevant ads They seem to think we find this valuable.
The behavioral evidence seems to agree with them, as well.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#14Look, I get the investment in technology and desire to push the limits, but sometimes these kinds of articles reveal a type of hubris that doesn't sit well with me.
>Facebook today cannot exist without AI. Every time you use Facebook or Instagram or Messenger, you may not realize it, but your experiences are being powered by AI.
It's not a "strong statement" as much as it is belligerently arrogant to the point of misguided. Facebook is its Users. No amount of AI can sell advertising the way Users can. And, last time I checked, it's still the User clicking around and having experiences.
AI is a servant and, for the foreseeable future, an extremely limited and immature one. Sure, in time it will help a lot of mundane things go more smoothly.
Like with this:
>For images and video, the AML team has built a machine learning vision platform called Lumos.
Great! Now Facebook can end the scourge of Freebooting and Copyright Infringement once and for all! I dearly look forward to the highly publicized ban-hammer drops! Because that's one of the main reasons those tools exist, right, to serve the actual creators and not the Facebook ecosystem at the end of the day? Oh. Right.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's where we're going now then? My hardware is used to run your code for your benefit, the scraps of which I can only hope to see should I be so blessed by the gods at Facebook?
It's not like they're running Seti@home on your phone. Presumably you're on Facebook for your own value. The micro energy cost st the individual user will be a rounding error but for Facebook and it's infrastructure it could be a huge savings and should deliver better user experience. Seems smart to me.
> The micro energy cost at the individual level
The impact to people won't be the cost but rather the decreased battery life.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#16A lot of the people featured in this story came from Microsoft. Folks at Microsoft/Facebook - any ideas as to why that is? Is it just that Microsoft is a huge and dominant institution in computing so probability wise a lot of people naturally would have backgrounds which came from Microsoft? Is it because Microsoft is (or were??) leaders in ML/AI and it is has recently become a FB focus area, so lots of hiring of Mic…
The article seems to posit that Facebook is structured in a way to much more quickly implement advances in the field into production than Microsoft. Microsoft attracted a lot of talent in the area but said talent gravitates towards whichever company is best suited to use their skills.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#17A lot of the people featured in this story came from Microsoft. Folks at Microsoft/Facebook - any ideas as to why that is? Is it just that Microsoft is a huge and dominant institution in computing so probability wise a lot of people naturally would have backgrounds which came from Microsoft? Is it because Microsoft is (or were??) leaders in ML/AI and it is has recently become a FB focus area, so lots of hiring of Mic…
I think its similar in other areas, like storage... Lots of former Microsoft people at FB. Wondering how that impacted their culture, etc. over the last 3-5 years. They just recently opened a brand new office in Seattle also AFAIK.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#18A lot of the people featured in this story came from Microsoft. Folks at Microsoft/Facebook - any ideas as to why that is? Is it just that Microsoft is a huge and dominant institution in computing so probability wise a lot of people naturally would have backgrounds which came from Microsoft? Is it because Microsoft is (or were??) leaders in ML/AI and it is has recently become a FB focus area, so lots of hiring of Mic…
MSR let go of one of their major AI/ML groups IIRC and they promptly joined FAIR, plus Kaiming He and his group (one of the best) left for FAIR.
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's where we're going now then? My hardware is used to run your code for your benefit, the scraps of which I can only hope to see should I be so blessed by the gods at Facebook?
It's not like they're running Seti@home on your phone. Presumably you're on Facebook for your own value. The micro energy cost st the individual user will be a rounding error but for Facebook and it's infrastructure it could be a huge savings and should deliver better user experience. Seems smart to me.
Maybe I just don't want them doing that?
Re: The Applied Machine Learning group at Facebook
#20Look, I get the investment in technology and desire to push the limits, but sometimes these kinds of articles reveal a type of hubris that doesn't sit well with me. > Facebook today cannot exist without AI. Every time you use Facebook or Instagram or Messenger, you may not realize it, but your experiences are being powered by AI. It's not a "strong statement" as much as it is belligerently arrogant to the point of mi…
"And, last time I checked, it's still the User clicking around and having experiences."
On a giant request, query, storage, and analysis engine that predates the AI trends. I'm sure Facebook uses plenty of machine learning algorithms but I wouldn't call it an AI company at this point. It's an advertising, media, and communication company that relies on user-generated content and ad networks. That's not as cool as an AI company, though. ;)