Meta's Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun Makes the Case for Open Source | On With Kara Swisher
A Conversation with AI Pioneer Jan LeCun: Open Source, Regulation, and the Future of Artificial General Intelligence
The special program On with Cara Swisher, jointly presented by New York magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, recently invited Jan LeCun, the Chief AI Scientist at Meta and the winner of the 2018 Turing Award, for an in - depth conversation. This scientist, known as the "Godfather of AI", in his trademark straightforward style, discussed the future direction of AI technology, the necessity of the open - source ecosystem, and his sharp disagreements with his peers on the issue of AI regulation.
Open Source vs. Proprietary: The Dual Tracks of AI Development
When talking about Meta's AI strategy, LeCun emphasized the value of the open - source platform. He pointed out that Meta's newly released Llama 3 model has been downloaded over 650 million times, spawning 85,000 open - source projects, covering diverse applications from Indian language training to support for Senegalese dialects. "Open source is not an act of charity but a catalyst for technological progress," he explained. "When developers around the world can freely modify and optimize the model, the speed of innovation will grow exponentially."
These remarks stand in sharp contrast to the proprietary strategies of companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. LeCun believes that Meta's AI business does not solely rely on advertising revenue but builds the infrastructure for "future digital assistants" through the open - source platform. "Just as Linux is to operating systems, open - source AI will become the underlying architecture of the next generation of smart devices," he added. "After the launch of Llama 3, we've seen global developers create a large number of innovative applications that we never envisioned."
Regulatory Disputes: The "Doomsday Theory" and Pragmatists of AI Security
On the issue of AI regulation, LeCun has fundamental disagreements with his peers such as Hinton and Bengio. When asked about the California SB 1047 bill, he said bluntly: "Restricting AI research and development will bring about doomsday - like consequences." He believes that current AI systems are "dumber than house cats", and the real risk lies in the monopoly of technological development by a few tech companies. "If the government bans open - source AI, in the end, only three West Coast companies will control the global digital life," he emphasized.
This view is in strong contrast to the "AI doomsday theory" of Hinton and Bengio. LeCun admits that AI security needs attention but opposes over - regulation. "Just as no one could foresee the safety standards for jet engines in the 1920s, we can't set rules for technologies that haven't been invented yet," he proposed. AI security should be achieved through a "goal - driven architecture", where the system can only perform specific tasks and follow preset rules, which is essentially similar to the legal system of human society.
AGI Timeline: Ten Years or Five?
Regarding the development timeline of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), LeCun gave a different prediction from other experts. "We need at least ten years, or even longer," he refuted the view of Hinton and others that "AGI will be achieved within five years", pointing out that current AI systems have fundamental flaws in understanding the physical world. "The environmental information a four - year - old child obtains through vision is equivalent to the 20 trillion words of text processed by the largest language models," he emphasized. A real breakthrough requires AI systems to understand the physical world through observation and interaction like infants.
Meta's layout in the field of AGI is also worth noting. LeCun revealed that the company is developing the Meta Motivo project, aiming to create more realistic digital human assistants. "Future smart glasses will have built - in AI assistants, which need to understand the physical world and perform complex tasks," he said. The prototype of the smart glasses he showed indicates a revolutionary change in the way of human - machine interaction.
Cultural Heritage and the Future of Democracy
On the cultural level, LeCun put forward a controversial view: he believes that cultural institutions such as libraries and foundations should open up their content for AI training. "If we want AI to become the general repository of human knowledge, we must break down data silos," he said. Taking the endangered Breton language as an example, he explained the importance of open - source AI for cultural protection. Despite being criticized for this, he insisted that "open - source platforms can give different cultures equal development opportunities in the AI era."
This view also extends to the democratic issue. LeCun warned that if AI assistants are monopolized by a few companies, it will threaten the global democratic diversity. "When every country can only use the AI assistants of three companies, cultural homogenization will be inevitable," he emphasized. Only an open platform can ensure that users can choose intelligent systems with different values.
Conclusion: Scientists' Responsibilities and Limitations
At the end of the conversation, LeCun admitted that he "is not a billionaire" but emphasized the importance of scientific integrity. "I may make mistakes, but I won't mislead the public out of greed." This frank attitude may be the key for him to maintain an independent voice in the AI field. When asked whether AI can solve social problems, he gave a pragmatic response: "AI can improve efficiency, but it can't eliminate the prejudices and loneliness in human nature."
This conversation not only presents a multi - dimensional picture of AI technology development but also reveals the difficult balance that scientists need to strike between technological innovation and social responsibility. As LeCun said: "Scientific progress requires openness and cooperation, but ultimately, it is human wisdom and kindness that determine the direction of technology."