Yann LeCun Criticizes Meta's AI Strategy

AI pioneer Yann LeCun has predicted further employee departures from Meta following the company's recent AI reorganization. In a recent interview, LeCun criticized the hiring of Alexandr Wang to lead the Super Intelligence Lab, citing a lack of research experience. He also revealed that CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost confidence in the existing AI team after issues with the Llama 4 model results. While LeCun has left Meta to form his own startup, he noted that Zuckerberg remains supportive of his views, despite the new team's heavy focus on large language models.

AI pioneer Yann LeCun has expressed doubts regarding Meta's recent strategic moves in the artificial intelligence sector. Specifically, LeCun criticized the hiring of Alexandr Wang, the 28-year-old cofounder of Scale AI, to lead Meta's Super Intelligence Lab. LeCun described Wang as 'inexperienced' regarding the nuances of research management.

During the interview, LeCun elaborated on his concerns about Wang's ability to manage high-level researchers. 'There's no experience with research or how you practice research,' LeCun said about the Scale AI cofounder. He further noted that Wang 'learns fast' and 'knows what he doesn't know,' but maintained that there is a gap in understanding regarding what attracts or repels top research talent.

The hiring of Wang was a significant component of Meta's aggressive strategy in the AI talent war. Meta made a $14 billion investment in Scale AI, a deal that included bringing Wang onto the internal team. LeCun suggested that this move was a direct result of leadership dissatisfaction with the previous AI team's performance.

According to LeCun, the decision to overhaul the AI leadership was driven by Mark Zuckerberg's frustration with the progress of the company's flagship open-sourced model, Llama. LeCun stated that the AI team 'fudged' some of the results regarding Llama 4, a claim that drew criticism at the time for potentially gaming benchmark tests.

This incident reportedly soured Zuckerberg's relationship with the existing AI organization. LeCun indicated that the CEO lost trust in the personnel involved in the controversy. 'Mark was really upset and basically lost confidence in everyone who was involved in this,' LeCun said. He added that the fallout led to the company 'sidelining the entire GenAI organisation.'

Following the reorganization, Wang briefly became LeCun's superior. However, LeCun made it clear that he does not take direction on research matters. 'You don't tell a researcher what to do,' LeCun stated. 'You certainly don't tell a researcher like me what to do.'

Despite the leadership shakeup, LeCun noted that Mark Zuckerberg remains supportive of his personal views on the future of AI. However, LeCun observed that the broader hiring strategy at Meta is heavily focused on large language models (LLMs). LeCun has consistently argued that LLMs are too limited to achieve true superintelligence.

LeCun remains steadfast in his scientific integrity, refusing to alter his stance despite potential internal pressure. 'I'm sure there's a lot of people at Meta, including perhaps Alex, who would like me to not tell the world that LLMs basically are a dead end when it comes to superintelligence,' LeCun said. 'But I'm not gonna change my mind because some dude thinks I'm wrong. I'm not wrong.'

LeCun is now moving forward with his own venture, reportedly named Advanced Machine Intelligence. He clarified that he will serve as the executive chair of the new company rather than the CEO. 'I'm a scientist, a visionary,' LeCun explained. 'I can't be a CEO. I'm both too disorganised for this, and also too old!'