#416 – Yann Lecun: Meta AI, Open Source, Limits of LLMs, AGI & the Future of AI
Mar 7, 2024
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Yann LeCun, Chief AI Scientist at Meta and Turing Award winner, dives into the transformative power of open-source AI. He discusses the real-world limits of large language models, emphasizing the need for sensory experiences in developing true intelligence. LeCun also outlines the intricacies of AI's hierarchical planning and the importance of diverse perspectives in AI development. The conversation navigates the delicate balance between innovation and ethical considerations, urging for a collective approach in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
LLMs have limitations in understanding complex real-world scenarios and common sense reasoning despite impressive linguistic capabilities.
Self-supervised learning, exemplified by LLMs, showcases the power of unsupervised techniques in enhancing AI applications.
Advancements in representational learning, from multilingual translation to intuitive physics models, have pushed AI capabilities forward.
Future AI systems must combine language-based LLMs with visual understanding for multi-level reasoning and intuitive physics reasoning.
Current NLMs lack comprehensive common sense reasoning, social cues understanding, and contextual nuances essential for human interactions.
Deep dives
Lecun's Skepticism on Auto-Aggressive LLMs
Yann LeCun's skepticism towards the deep understanding capabilities of auto-aggressive Large Language Models (LLMs) is expressed through his belief that they are ultimately limited in true comprehension of the world. Despite their impressive linguistic capabilities, LeCun emphasizes that these models may fall short in understanding complex real-world scenarios or engaging in common sense reasoning, highlighting the need for advancement beyond solely language-focused models.
Success of Self-Supervised Learning and LLMs
The success of self-supervised learning, exemplified by the development of LLMs, is clear evidence of the power of leveraging unsupervised techniques in AI. Yann LeCun acknowledges the significant progress achieved through self-supervised training methods, particularly in the realm of multilingual translation, content moderation, and speech recognition. These advancements have proven the efficacy of self-supervised learning in enhancing various AI applications.
Evolution of Representational Learning
Yann LeCun traces the evolution of representational learning in AI, emphasizing the importance of training systems to capture internal structure without the need for explicit task supervision. From the inception of the International Conference on Learning Representations to the recent advancements in creating multilingual translation systems and intuitive physics-based models, the journey of learning representations has been integral in pushing AI capabilities forward.
Future of LLMs and Joint Embedding Approaches
While highlighting the current achievements of LLMs and joint embedding approaches like JAPA, Yann LeCun underscores the essential need for hierarchical planning, structural understanding of physical reality, and multi-level reasoning. He envisions a future where a combination of language-based LLMs and visual understanding through joint embedding representations will enable AI systems to tackle complex real-world tasks that necessitate intuitive physics reasoning and common sense knowledge.
AI's Acquisition of Common Sensing: Navigating the Landscape of AI Learning
AI systems, like neural language models (NLMs), are venturing into a transformative phase where acquiring a shared human-like understanding of the world remains a significant challenge. The podcast delves into the intricacies of bridging the gap between low-level data and high-level conceptual understanding inherent in human communication. The exploration emphasizes the fundamental role of common experience as a basis for language comprehension, a quality NLMs currently lack. While humans possess a collective understanding of phenomena like gravity or social norms, AI systems struggle to grasp these implicit yet crucial facets of communication.
Challenges in Generating Common Sense: Limitations of Neural Language Models
The discussion outlines how neural language models, focusing solely on text training, encounter hurdles in encoding comprehensive common sense reasoning. It points out that the wealth of knowledge accumulated through human experience, especially during the formative years, is conspicuously absent in text-based AI training data. The podcast highlights the deficiency in capturing nuanced social cues, tacit knowledge, and contextual understanding essential for seamless human interactions, all of which lay beyond the reach of current NLM capabilities.
The Implications of Model Predictive Control in AI Systems
Insights shed light on the nuanced approach of utilizing model predictive control to guide AI systems in generating answers and responses. By differentiating between autoregressive prediction methods and energy-based models, the discussion unveils the importance of considering objective functions and energy thresholds to navigate the complex space of potential responses. Emphasizing the need for diverse and open-source AI development, the podcast underscores the significance of incorporating guardrails into AI systems to ensure responsible and ethical behavior.
The Future Path of AI: From Open-Source Platforms to Diverse and Adaptable AI Systems
Looking ahead, the podcast envisions a future where open-source platforms serve as the foundation for diverse and specialized AI applications. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem where varied communities can fine-tune and customize AI models to cater to specific needs, the landscape of AI development is poised for exponential growth and innovation. The discourse accentuates the critical role of diversity, both in terms of technical advancements and ethical considerations, in shaping the trajectory of AI towards more inclusive and versatile systems.
AI Systems and Dominance Concerns
Speculation about the dangers of AI systems surpassing human intelligence and potentially dominating humanity is addressed. The belief that intelligent species naturally seek dominance is debunked, highlighting that AI lacks intrinsic desires for dominance. The implementation of guardrails in AI systems, such as obeying humans and preventing harm, is proposed to mitigate concerns of abusive AI behavior.
Empowering Humanity with AI
The potential of AI to enhance human intelligence and serve as virtual assistants is discussed. Drawing parallels to historical innovations like the printing press, AI is seen as a tool to amplify human intellect and improve decision-making. Embracing open source AI platforms is advocated to foster diversity, prevent centralization of power, and uphold democratic values in AI development.
Yann LeCun is the Chief AI Scientist at Meta, professor at NYU, Turing Award winner, and one of the most influential researchers in the history of AI. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(09:10) – Limits of LLMs
(20:47) – Bilingualism and thinking
(24:39) – Video prediction
(31:59) – JEPA (Joint-Embedding Predictive Architecture)
(35:08) – JEPA vs LLMs
(44:24) – DINO and I-JEPA
(45:44) – V-JEPA
(51:15) – Hierarchical planning
(57:33) – Autoregressive LLMs
(1:12:59) – AI hallucination
(1:18:23) – Reasoning in AI
(1:35:55) – Reinforcement learning
(1:41:02) – Woke AI
(1:50:41) – Open source
(1:54:19) – AI and ideology
(1:56:50) – Marc Andreesen
(2:04:49) – Llama 3
(2:11:13) – AGI
(2:15:41) – AI doomers
(2:31:31) – Joscha Bach
(2:35:44) – Humanoid robots
(2:44:52) – Hope for the future
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