Meta’s Zuckerberg puts faith in open-source AI to maintain US lead over China
- Many Chinese tech firms still rely on US AI models, including closed versions such as OpenAI’s suite of GPT models, and Meta’s open-source Llama
Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, whose company runs Llama, the world’s largest open-source large language model (LLM), said artificial intelligence based on open-source technology will help the US maintain a lead over China.
“Some people argue that we must close our models to prevent China from gaining access to them, but my view is that this will not work and will only disadvantage the US and its allies,” Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post published on July 23, advocating for open source AI and announcing its own open source model Llama 3.1.
Having only closed models will result in a world where leading models can only be accessed by a handful of large companies and the US’ geopolitical adversaries, who are “great at espionage”, the Facebook founder argued. “Stealing models that fit on a thumb drive is relatively easy, and most tech companies are far from operating in a way that would make this more difficult.”
The Meta chief’s comments come amid a fierce AI race between China and the US. Driven by national security concerns, Washington has intensified measures preventing China’s access to advanced chips and curbing American investment in Chinese AI projects. In response, Beijing has urged domestic firms to build the country’s own models independent of foreign technology.
Many Chinese tech firms still rely on US AI models, including closed versions such as OpenAI’s suite of GPT models, and Meta’s open source Llama.