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Meta Is Building A New ‘SuperIntelligence’ AI Lab
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Meta is building a new dedicated AI Lab to pursue “superintelligence,” also known as artificial superintelligence (ASI), a technology that surpasses human capabilities. Alexandr Wang, Scale AI’s founder and CEO, is expected to join the project after the acquisition deal is done.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Meta plans to build a dedicated AI Lab to pursue “superintelligence.”
- Scale AI’s CEO Alexandr Wang will be part of the team after the acquisition deal is closed.
- The new AI Lab is part of Meta’s reorganization, and Zuckerberg will personally choose the next 50 talents that will join the team.
On Monday, it was revealed that Meta is planning to acquire Scale AI and is offering around $10 billion for the company, the largest private-sector investment in history. With Scale AI, Meta expects to expand its AI efforts and build an advanced AI team to gain an advantage against competitors such as Google and OpenAI in the AI race.
According to the New York Times , four sources familiar with the matter explained that the new AI Lab is part of Meta’s reorganization process as some products haven’t worked as expected, and recent changes in the workforce.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, expects to turn the company into an AI powerhouse, and is pushing the development of AI products such as the latest smart glasses and Meta AI . In February, Zuckerberg described AI as “potentially one of the most important innovations in history” and emphasized that 2025 is a crucial year for its development.
Meta wants to explore “superintelligence,” considered a futuristic goal by leading researchers. This technology, hypothetically, goes beyond Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), as its potential could be more powerful than machines that can perform as well as humans.
Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist, is in charge of Meta’s research efforts. The expert is also a New York University professor and won the Turing Award in 2018. However, Dr. LeCun considers AGI a lofty goal that needs new ideas.
Meta’s recent efforts in AI development have not been as advanced as its competitors, but its open-source model Llama—a strategy to encourage worldwide adoption of its model—is used by over 1 billion people every month.
According to Reuters , Zuckerberg expects to personally hire 50 new talents to join the new AI lab soon, in part driven by his frustration with not meeting expectations with the latest model, Llama 4.
Image by Leo Bubliz, from Unsplash
YouTube Softens Its Moderation Standards
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
YouTube has implemented a new moderation policy which instructs staff members to prioritize “freedom of expression” when videos violate platform rules.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- YouTube now prioritizes free speech over strict content moderation.
- Misinformation videos may remain if deemed newsworthy.
- Critics warn looser rules may fuel hate speech and false claims.
As first reported by The New York Times , the new policy enables YouTube to keep controversial content online, including political opinions, offensive speech and misinformation. It allows this content when the platform determines it serves public interest.
The Times reported that content moderators received this policy during training sessions, which started in mid-December. YouTube now permits half of a video to contain rule-breaking content (previously the limit was one quarter) when the video addresses social, or political matters, including elections, gender, race, and abortion topics.
“Recognizing that the definition of ‘public interest’ is always evolving, we update our guidance for these exceptions to reflect the new types of discussion we see on the platform today,” said YouTube spokesperson Nicole Bell, as reported by The Times. “Our goal remains the same: to protect free expression on YouTube while mitigating egregious harm,” Nicole added.
The Times reports that one example YouTube cited in training was a video titled “ RFK Jr. Delivers SLEDGEHAMMER Blows to Gene-Altering JABS, ” which falsely claimed Covid vaccines alter genes.
Though the video violated YouTube’s medical misinformation rules, it was allowed to stay up due to its “newsworthiness” and lack of a direct recommendation against vaccines. The Times says that the video has since been removed, and it’s unclear why.
Critics say this move could boost hate speech and misinformation online. “What we’re seeing is a rapid race to the bottom,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, as reported by The Times. “This is not about free speech. It’s about advertising, amplification and ultimately profits,” he added.
While YouTube once focused on removing harmful content to please advertisers, it now seems more interested in avoiding political backlash and keeping more content, and viewers, on the platform.
