Tensions are high in AI.
The leaders of AI don’t seem to be on the best of terms. Feuds abound, from Sam Altman and Dario Amodei to Altman and Elon Musk — the latter of which is playing out in court.
Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, has his own rivalries. On the “Core Memory” podcast, Wang called any hostilities in the AI industry “unfortunate.”
“My real hope is that all these animosities subside over time and then people sort of come together and realize we are building this incredibly important technology,” Wang said. “It’s important for all of us to be really thoughtful about that as we build it.”
Yann LeCun, Wang’s former colleague, is one of his primary critics. The ex-Meta chief AI scientist called Wang “inexperienced” and said that he didn’t fully understand AI researchers.
On the podcast, Wang said that he saw LeCun in India a few weeks after the comment. LeCun also congratulated the Meta Superintelligence Labs on its launch of Muse Spark AI model, he said.
“Yann is a notable, very outspoken person,” LeCun said. “I think everyone always knows what Yann is thinking.”
Wang applied his optimistic philosophy to his relationship with LeCun: hopefully, as the company nears superintelligence, it will get better. LeCun did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Host Ashlee Vance said that it seemed like relationships in the AI community were getting worse.
“Maybe it gets worse, then it gets better,” Wang replied.
Vance also referenced another AI leader: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The duo was once roommates. Then Wang’s Superintelligence Lab launched a poaching campaign — armed with Meta’s checkbook — that targeted staff of major AI labs, including OpenAI.
In June, Altman said that Meta’s luring of talent via large compensation packages could hurt them. “I don’t think that’s going to set up a great culture,” Altman said.
On the podcast, Vance said that he texted Altman about the interview with Wang. “He did not have flattering things to say,” Vance said.
Wang didn’t directly comment on his relationship with Altman. OpenAI didn’t respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The Meta AI leader voiced empathy for his fellow AI heads. There are “various mischaracterizations about them,” he said.
“What’s out there is never always correct,” Wang said. “It can be frustrating, but I choose to just channel it into the work that we’re doing.”
