- Mark Zuckerberg spoke about one of the most annoying things about the AI industry right now.
- The Meta CEO criticized those chasing a god-like “one true AI.”
- Zuckerberg doesn't believe there's one best AI, just as you don't use just one app.
Mark Zuckerberg is leading the charge into the AI field with Meta, but he doesn't like people who think they're creating some kind of singular AI “god.”
Meta's CEO recently sat down for an interview with YouTuber Kane Sutter (aka Kallaway) to discuss the company's AI strategy, which doesn't just involve one model.
“In the future, there won't be one AI,” Zuckerberg said. “There will be many AIs, and different people will be able to build different things.”
While other big tech companies have identified a core AI model to focus on, like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, Zuckerberg said Meta is looking to integrate multiple AIs.
“Our overall view is that this isn't just one type of thing that should exist,” he said. “People want to interact with different people and businesses, and different AIs need to be created to reflect people's different interests.”
Zuckerberg used the opportunity to reiterate his support for the open-source AI model, saying the technology should not be “monopolized” by any company that tries to control its use or build a single core product.
The pursuit of a unique, all-purpose AI is something he is reluctant to do, he said.
“I find it so tiresome when people in tech talk about building true AI,” Zuckerberg said, “as if they think they're creating a god or something.”
Zuckerberg appeared to be referring to part of the debate about achieving the Singularity, or artificial general intelligence – the idea that AI will eventually surpass humanity's own intelligence.
The pursuit of AI can even become a kind of religion for some: For example, former Google engineer Anthony Lewandowski founded the Church of the Way to the Future for people seeking to forge a “spiritual connection” with AI.
However, Zuckerberg's comments were likely directed at AI researchers who liken AGI to god.
“We are creating gods,” an anonymous AI researcher told Vanity Fair in September. “We are creating conscious machines.”
Others, like Ilya Sutskever, former co-founder of OpenAI, aren't talking about “God” but rather pursuing a single “superintelligence.”
Arthur Mensch, CEO of AI company Mistral, expressed concern last year about Silicon Valley's obsession with AGI, saying, “The rhetoric about AGI is about creating god.” […] I'm a staunch atheist, so I don't believe in AGI.”
Anthropik co-founder Jack Clarke also suggests that “much of the enthusiasm for AGI is the result of a misguided religious impulse from people raised in secular cultures.”
Meta is also actively participating in the AI race, striving to build increasingly powerful AI systems, but Zuckerberg said Meta wants to create a diverse set of tools to let users build their own AI systems.
“Some people are saying we're going to see a truly giant AI that can do anything,” Zuckerberg said. “I don't think things are trending that way.”
