ChatGPT Faces New Challenge from Meta’s Llama 2 AI Model
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has introduced Llama 2, a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) system that directly competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. In a surprising move, Meta plans to offer a commercial version of Llama 2 for free, giving startups and businesses an affordable opportunity to compete with their counterparts utilizing ChatGPT and Bard.
Unlike its competitors, Meta will distribute the new Llama 2 version through Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, specifically designed to run on the Windows operating system. This collaboration makes Microsoft the preferred partner for the release. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced that Llama 2, the AI large language model, will be available for both research and commercial use.
While Meta has been on par with tech giants like Google and Microsoft in terms of AI advancements, its previous AI model, ChatGPT, gained more popularity. This prompted Meta’s pursuit of generative AI tools capable of producing fresh content like prose and images.
One key differentiating factor for Meta is its commitment to openness. The company shares data and code for building AI systems, allowing external researchers to identify and address potential bias and toxicity issues. Zuckerberg believes that open-sourcing Llama 2 will foster innovation and enhance safety and security.
However, in the research paper introducing Llama 2, Meta reveals less transparency compared to its previous work. While the model was trained on a mixed dataset from publicly available sources, the specific sources were not disclosed. The paper did mention the exclusion of personal information from certain websites.
Meta’s first AI model, known as LLaMA, was open-sourced. But for its second version, the company dropped the capital letters and is making Llama 2 available through direct download or Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, which provides safety and content tools.
Although Meta considers Microsoft its preferred partner, Llama 2 will also be accessible through Amazon Web Services and AI startup Hugging Face. Microsoft, as a significant funder and partner of OpenAI, is also involved in the AI partnership with Meta.
During a Microsoft event tailored for business customers, the two companies expressed their shared commitment to democratizing AI and its benefits. Meta is already a customer of Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform.
Additionally, Microsoft unveiled its monthly $30 per user fee for Microsoft 365 Copilot, their flagship generative AI tool, on top of existing service charges for businesses.
