Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out a vision Monday of what he said artificial intelligence can do for the world, imagining a future where everyone has their own, all-knowing AI agent that strives to improve all aspects of their lives.
Zuckerberg detailed his ambitions for the technology in a 6,500-word essay published online where he also outlined why he favours open-source AI technology, in which developers make key components accessible for anyone to examine, modify and build upon.
In a document derided by critics as fantastical, Zuckerberg said his company is working towards an era where everyone will have the tools to create new businesses, receive PhD-level tutoring and receive personalised lifestyle tips. His 8-year-old daughter, he wrote, can already code her ideas and quickly produce videos.
“Everyone will soon have invention superpowers,” Zuckerberg wrote.
Zuckerberg warned of risks if control of advanced AI is concentrated with a select few companies, institutions or governments. On Monday, Meta also announced the release of a new open-source AI model, Muse Glimmer, which can run on a personal computer, and Zuckerberg said the company would also provide a way for developers to access a more powerful AI model, Muse Spark 1.2.
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Meta makes AI models, like several other tech companies, and uses them to power platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. The Menlo Park, California, company also makes them available to developers who can create their own apps and features.
Critics said Zuckerberg was not reckoning fully with the risks inherent in AI’s rapid development.
Noting recent incidents where AI models, including Meta’s own, hacked other companies on at least three separate occasions, Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the AI safety non-profit Future of Life Institute, asked “what on Earth makes Meta think they – or anyone – could control something exponentially smarter, faster, and more capable?”
“Meta’s chosen path is ultimately one of human replacement and disempowerment, but there is an alternate, pro-human path – one that brings about individual flourishing and scientific breakthroughs with controllable AI tools. What’s urgently needed now is for governments to facilitate a pause on advanced AI development and steer us onto the pro-human path – before it’s too late,” Aguirre said.
In his essay, Zuckerberg outlined why he thought open source is a better path for fair development of AI. He warned that if control of AI “superintelligence” is too concentrated, it will lead to less favourable outcomes for everyone else. The key, he wrote, is finding a balance that ensures advanced AI is “broadly distributed” to empower billions of people equitably.
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Meta has long been a proponent of open-sourcing its AI models, but has struggled to keep up with rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google that have not taken the same approach.
Zuckerberg made what could be a veiled reference to Meta’s rivals without naming specific companies.
“Most other labs are focused on building AI for companies, governments, or other institutions, so if those labs lead, then the balance of power will favour larger institutions over individuals,” he wrote.
Zuckerberg also included policy recommendations for keeping the US ahead of rivals, including China. The United States and its allies need to speed up building energy capacity and infrastructure to stay competitive, he said.
Zuckerberg called for authorities to reconsider their position on “distillation”, which involves training a less capable model on the outputs of a stronger one. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on Chinese AI companies using distillation to extract technical features from US AI models. Anthropic earlier this year accused China’s DeepSeek of using distillation.
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“Some have tried to frame distillation as harmful, but I think it is important to protect the principle that you can learn from anything you can observe,” Zuckerberg said. “This is how the world works, and the US will not be able to lead if we restrict ourselves on this front.”
Matt Lane, senior policy counsel at the non-profit digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, called Zuckerberg “annoyingly out of touch on his best day”, but said the CEO is right about the importance of open-source AI.
Shared access to open-source AI systems is important for protection in a world where AI can be used to hack into electronic systems, like voting systems and benefits infrastructure, he said.
But he said only Meta will benefit if everyone were to use Meta-designed AI systems, even if they are fully open-source. “Open-source AI needs to be supported beyond these corporate interests. We, unlike Zuckerberg, hope for as much competition as possible,” he said.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
