Meta Teams Up with Microsoft to Open-Source AI Model, Llama 2
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced its partnership with Microsoft, making its large language model (LLM), Llama 2, freely available to the public and researchers. At Microsoft’s recent Inspire event, Meta expanded its collaboration with the tech giant, designating Microsoft as its preferred partner for Llama 2.
According to Meta’s blog post, this move aims to provide businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, and researchers with greater access to the tools they need to experiment, innovate, and ultimately reap the economic and social benefits of advanced AI capabilities. By open-sourcing Llama 2, Meta intends to make AI development safer and encourage stress testing to identify and resolve potential issues effectively.
Llama 2 will be supported on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and Windows operating system, allowing users to leverage its power for diverse applications. Additionally, Meta disclosed its collaboration with Qualcomm to bring Llama 2 to mobile phones, laptops, and headsets, empowering AI-powered apps that do not rely on cloud services. This exciting partnership with Qualcomm is expected to take effect in 2024.
Meta has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring the safety of Llama 2 by conducting rigorous testing and fine-tuning, internally and externally. Adversarial prompts have been used to thoroughly evaluate the model and address any concerns. To maintain safety standards, Meta will continue investing in fine-tuning, benchmarking, and enhancing the model’s overall performance.
The availability of Llama 2 starts today, with the model being integrated into Azure AI’s catalog and optimized for local use on Windows. In addition to Microsoft Azure, Llama 2 will also be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS), Hugging Face, and various other providers, expanding its reach to developers and researchers across different platforms.
Meta’s decision to open-source Llama 2 serves as a significant development in the AI landscape. By democratizing access to this powerful language model, Meta and its partners aim to foster innovation, empower businesses, and advance AI research. Collaborations with industry leaders like Microsoft and Qualcomm further solidify this vision, driving the adoption of AI technologies across a wide range of devices and applications.
With Llama 2 now available, developers and researchers can explore its capabilities, stress test the model, and uncover new possibilities within the realm of natural language understanding. As the AI community continues to push boundaries, initiatives like these pave the way for a more inclusive and collaborative future, accelerating advancements in artificial intelligence and benefiting society as a whole.
