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Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

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Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#311

Post by hbarka »

xuancanh wrote: post #65
sebmellen wrote: post #2

Making LeCun report to Wang was the most boneheaded move imaginable. But… I suppose Zuckerberg knows what he wants, which is AI slopware and not truly groundbreaking foundation models.

In industry research, someone in a chief position like LeCun should know how to balance long-term research with short-term projects. However, for whatever reason, he consistently shows hostility toward LLMs and engineering projects, even though Llama and PyTorch are two of the most influential projects from Meta AI. His attitude doesn’t really match what is expected from a Chief position at a product company like Fac…

LeCun truly believes the future is in world models. He’s not alone. Good for him to now be in the position he’s always wanted and hopefully prove out what he constantly talks about.

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#312

Post by skeeter2020 »

afthonos wrote: post #288
gtech1 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds crazy. We don't even know/can't define what human intelligence is or how it works , but we're trying to replicate it with AGI ?

Man, why did no one tell the people who invented bronze that they weren’t allowed to do it until they had a correct definition for metals and understood how they worked? I guess the person saying something can’t be done should stay out of the way of the people doing it.

>> I guess the person saying something can’t be done should stay out of the way of the people doing it.

I'll happily step out of the way once someone simply tells me what it is you're trying to accomplish. Until you can actually define it, you can't do "it".

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#313

Post by blueboo »

sigbottle wrote: post #202
blutoot wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are the types that want academic freedom in a cut-throat industry setup and conversely never fit into academia because their profiles and growth ambitions far exceed what an academic research lab can afford (barring some marquee names). It's an unfortunate paradox.

Maybe it's time for Bell Labs 2? I guess everyone is racing towards AGI in a few years or whatever so it's kind of impossible to cultivate that environment.

We call it “legacy DeepMind”

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#314

Post by cantor_S_drug »

curiouscube wrote: post #210
sebmellen wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain this “world model” concept to me? How do you actually interface with a model like this?

One theory of how humans work is the so called predictive coding approach. Basically the theory assumes that human brains work similar to a kalman filter, that is, we have an internal model of the world that does a prediction of the world and then checks if the prediction is congruent with the observed changes in reality. Learning then comes down to minimizing the error between this internal model and the actual obse…

Learning Algorithm Of Biological Networks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-OLgbdZ3kk

In this video we explore Predictive Coding – a biologically plausible alternative to the backpropagation algorithm, deriving it from first principles.

Predictive coding and Hebbian learning are interconnected learning mechanisms where Hebbian learning rules are used to implement the brain's predictive coding framework. Predictive coding models the brain as a hierarchical system that minimizes prediction errors by sending top-down predictions and bottom-up error signals, while Hebbian learning, often simplified as "neurons that fire together, wire together," provides a biologically plausible way to update the network's weights to improve predictions over time.

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#315

Post by Aurornis »

mehulashah wrote: post #277

Most of the folks on this topic are focused on Meta and Yann’s departure. But, I’m seeing something different. This is the weirdest technology market that I’ve seen. Researchers are getting rewarded with VC money to try what remains a science experiment. That used to be a bad word and now that gets rewarded with billions of dollars in valuation.

> Researchers are getting rewarded with VC money to try what remains a science experiment. That used to be a bad word

I’ve worked for multiple startups and I’ve watched startup job boards most of my career.

A lot of VC backed startups have a founder with a research background and are focused on providing out some hypothesis. I don’t see anything uncommon about this arrangement.

If you live near a University that does a lot of research it’s very common to encounter VC backed startups that are trying to prove out and commercialize some researcher’s experiment. It’s also common for those founders to spend some time at a FAANG or similar firm before getting VC funded.

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#316

Post by skeeter2020 »

Obscurity4340 wrote: post #280
gtech1 wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds crazy. We don't even know/can't define what human intelligence is or how it works , but we're trying to replicate it with AGI ?

If an LLM can pass a bar exam, isn't that at least a decent proof of concept or working model?

Or does this just prove lawyers are artificially intelligent?

yes, a glib response, but think about it: we define an intelligence test for humans, which by definition is an artificial construct. If we then get a computer to do well on the test we haven't proved it's on par with human intelligence, just that both meet some of the markers that the test makers are using as rough proxies for human intelligence. Maybe this helps signal or judge if AI is a useful tool for specific problems, but it doesn't mean AGI

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#317

Post by cantor_S_drug »

rhubarbtree wrote: post #237
wmiel wrote: post #229

Surprising to see how many commenters are in favour and supportive towards policy of prioritising short term profits vs. Long-term research. I understand Meta's not academia nor charity, but come on, how much profit do they need to make so we can expect them to allocate part of their resources towards some long term goals beneficial for society,.not only for shareholders? Hasn't that narrow focus and chasing the prof…

Many people believe a company exists only to make profit for its shareholders, and that no matter the amount it should continue to maximise profits at the expense of all else.

Old story : killing the goose who lays golden eggs. We humans never learn, don't we?

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#318

Post by esafak »

diego_sandoval wrote: post #282
sigbottle wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's time for Bell Labs 2? I guess everyone is racing towards AGI in a few years or whatever so it's kind of impossible to cultivate that environment.

The fact that people invest on the architecture that keeps getting increasingly better results is a feature, not a bug. If LLMs actually hit a plateau, then investment will flow towards other architectures.

At which point companies that had the foresight to investigate those architectures earlier on will have the lead.

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#319

Post by nailer »

zikduruqe wrote: post #286
mehulashah wrote: post #277

Most of the folks on this topic are focused on Meta and Yann’s departure. But, I’m seeing something different. This is the weirdest technology market that I’ve seen. Researchers are getting rewarded with VC money to try what remains a science experiment. That used to be a bad word and now that gets rewarded with billions of dollars in valuation.

> This is the weirdest technology market that I’ve seen. You must have not lived through the dot com boom. There was almost everything under the sun was being sold under a website that started with an "e". ePets, ePlants, eStamps, eUnderwear, eStocks, eCards, eInvites.....

It did make sense though. ePlants could have cornered the online nursery market. That is a valuable market. I think people were just too early. Payment and logistics hasn’t been figured out yet.

Re: Yann LeCun to depart Meta and launch AI startup focused on 'world models'

#320

Post by thrance »

ricardobeat wrote: post #309
zikduruqe wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is the weirdest technology market that I’ve seen. You must have not lived through the dot com boom. There was almost everything under the sun was being sold under a website that started with an "e". ePets, ePlants, eStamps, eUnderwear, eStocks, eCards, eInvites.....

It's funny that the Netherlands seems to still live in the dotcom boom to this day. Want to adopt a pet? verhuisdieren.nl. Want to buy wall art? wall-art.nl. Need cat5 cable? kabelshop.nl. 8/10 times there is a (legit) online store for whatever you need, to the point where one of the local e-commerce giants (Coolblue) buys this type of domain and aliases them to their main site.

Pretty funny, looks like it works in France too! animaux.fr redirects to a pet adoption service, cable.fr looks like a cable-selling shop. artmural.fr exists but looks like a personal blog from a wall artist, rather than a shop.
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