Today marks the 10-year anniversary of Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team, a milestone that highlights a decade of groundbreaking advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). FAIR has not only spearheaded numerous groundbreaking AI breakthroughs but has also set a precedent for conducting research in an open and responsible manner.
One of the team’s most notable achievements over the past decade has been in the field of object detection with their innovation known as Segment Anything. This technology has the ability to recognize objects in images, paving the way for enhanced visual understanding in AI systems.
Moreover, FAIR has been at the forefront of pioneering techniques for unsupervised machine translation, which has led to their groundbreaking achievement called No Language Left Behind. This breakthrough enables translation across 100 languages without relying on English as an intermediate language. As a result, the technology has greatly expanded text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities to over 1,000 languages.
In their continued commitment to open science, Meta has made significant strides by sharing their research findings, including papers, code, models, demos, and responsible use guides. Earlier this year, the company released the open and pre-trained large language model called Llama, followed by Llama 2, both of which are available for research and commercial use.
During the recent Connect event, Meta unveiled a range of innovative AI products and experiences that have now been made accessible to millions of people. These offerings are a culmination of the early research conducted by Meta’s Generative AI and product teams.
Building on their previous achievements, Meta has revealed their latest advancements in three key areas: Ego-Exo4D, Audiobox, and Seamless Communication.
Ego-Exo4D represents a significant step forward in teaching AI to perceive the world through human eyes. This technology utilizes a wearable camera to capture both egocentric (first-person) and exocentric (external) views simultaneously. By combining these perspectives, AI models gain a more comprehensive understanding of what individuals see and hear, providing a contextualized view of their environment.
In the near future, these advancements in AI will enable individuals wearing smart glasses to acquire new skills quickly through virtual AI coaches. Imagine watching an expert repair a bike tire, juggle a soccer ball, or fold an origami swan, and then being able to follow their actions as if mapping their steps to your own.
Meta’s advancements in generative AI for audio editing and styling have also been remarkable. Earlier this year, they introduced Voicebox, a model that aids in audio editing, sampling, and styling. Now, they have gone a step further with Audiobox, which allows users to describe sounds or types of speech they want to generate using voice prompts or text descriptions. The possibilities are endless, ranging from creating soundtracks with nature sounds to generating unique voices for various projects.
In collaboration with their work on SeamlessM4T, Meta has unveiled Seamless Communication, a suite of AI translation models that prioritize the preservation of expression across languages. By capturing tone, pauses, and emphasis, this technology ensures that important signals related to emotions and intentions are accurately conveyed during cross-linguistic communication.
SeamlessExpressive, the first publicly available system within the suite, takes into account the speaker’s emotion, style, rate, and rhythm of speech. Currently available for English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Chinese, this model bridges the gap between languages, empowering individuals to communicate more expressively and authentically.
SeamlessStreaming, another component of Seamless Communication, takes real-time conversations with individuals speaking different languages to a whole new level. Unlike conventional translation systems that wait for the speaker to finish their sentence, SeamlessStreaming translates while the speaker is still talking. This breakthrough significantly improves the speed and fluidity of cross-linguistic conversations, ensuring seamless communication between individuals who naturally speak different languages.
Meta’s unique position in the AI landscape, bolstered by their investments in software, hardware, and infrastructure, allows them to transform research findings into products that can benefit billions of people worldwide.
The FAIR team, Meta’s driving force for AI innovation, has all the necessary components for delivering true breakthroughs: a team of brilliant minds, a culture of openness, and the freedom to conduct exploratory research. This freedom has enabled Meta to adapt quickly and contribute to building the future of social connection.
By valuing responsible AI research and openness, Meta aims to not only push themselves towards excellence but also build trust in their advances. Sharing their thoughtful work with peers, inviting scrutiny, and fostering collaboration with a wider community accelerates progress and brings diverse contributions to the table.
Meta’s dedication to advancing the state-of-the-art in AI through open research has undoubtedly paved the way for transformative developments. As they continue on this trajectory, their innovations have the potential to reshape the world of AI and usher in a new era of possibilities for social connection and technological advancement.
