Meta hires Shengjia Zhao, the co-creator of ChatGPT, as the Chief Scientist for the AI Superintelligence division
Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) is a new AI research unit established by Meta, with a focus on developing advanced AI systems known as "personal superintelligence." This AI is designed to empower individuals by enhancing creativity, productivity, and personal growth through AI assistants integrated across Meta's platforms and wearable devices [1][2][3].
The key personnel leading MSL include Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, who co-leads the lab alongside Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO [1]. Shengjia Zhao, who co-founded MSL and has been its lead scientist since its inception, has been appointed as the new Chief Scientist of MSL [4][5]. Zhao's appointment was announced by Mark Zuckerberg via Threads.
Zhao is known for his work on OpenAI's reasoning model, o1, and has made significant contributions to the company's breakthroughs, including ChatGPT, GPT-4, and o1 [6]. He is also credited as a foundational contributor for o1, alongside OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever [7].
Meta's recruitment drive has attracted top talent from competing AI firms, such as Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, Hongyu Ren, Trapit Bansal, and three employees from OpenAI's Zurich office [8]. This aggressive recruitment strategy has significantly impacted the AI industry, intensifying competition and accelerating innovation in the race for artificial general intelligence (AGI) [1][4].
Meta's commitment to AI is evident in their substantial investment in cloud computing infrastructure. They are investing "hundreds of billions of dollars" into AI compute infrastructure and have increased their investment in cloud computing infrastructure [9]. By 2026, MSL will have access to Meta's 1 gigawatt cloud computing cluster, Prometheus, located in Ohio [10].
MSL's primary focus areas include working on foundation models such as the open-source Llama family of AI models, as well as products and Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research projects [11]. The lab is likely to focus on AI reasoning models, as Meta doesn't currently offer a competitor to OpenAI's o1 [12].
In summary, Meta's establishment of MSL and the appointment of Shengjia Zhao as its Chief Scientist demonstrates the company's strategic intent to influence AI development profoundly by focusing on individualized AI assistance. This could redefine user interaction with technology and heighten competitive dynamics in the AI sector.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly the personal superintelligence being developed at Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), is expected to revolutionize user interaction with technology, as highlighted by the lab's focus on AI assistants integrated across Meta's platforms and wearable devices. Shengjia Zhao, the new Chief Scientist of MSL, is well-versed in AI advancements, having made significant contributions to OpenAI's reasoning model, o1, and breakthroughs like ChatGPT and GPT-4.
