Meta Platforms, Inc.’s META AI chief Yann LeCun has defended the tech giant against social media users’ accusations of using misinformation as a business model to drive engagement.
What Happened: Over the weekend, LeCun took to X, formerly Twitter, and once again targeted Elon Musk saying he disagrees with him on several issues. This includes Musk’s treatment of his scientists, the hype he creates with unrealistic predictions, and the tech mogul’s tendency to use his public position to comment on many political issues.
When a user replied to his post, accusing Meta of using misinformation and inflaming of content as a business model to drive engagement, LeCun said that it was completely false. He went on to explain that the side effects of simple engagement maximization, such as information bubbles and clickbaits, were discovered years ago and have since been addressed.
“For example, the way the FB Feed operates was completely overhauled in 2017,” he said, adding, “I know that a lot of the ambient discourse (particularly on X) reflects opinions similar to yours, but that’s just prejudice based on outdated data.”
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Why It Matters: LeCun and Musk have been at odds since at least 2017, frequently holding divergent views on AI. Meta’s AI chief has previously disputed Musk's claim that AI will probably surpass individual human intelligence by next year.
The latest public disagreement began last month when the Tesla CEO invited tech professionals to join his AI startup, xAI. LeCun responded sarcastically, disapproving of the idea, saying, “Join xAI if you can stand a boss who: – claims that what you are working on will be solved next year (no pressure).”
Meanwhile, Musk has been targeting Meta’s social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp time and again. In May, he reiterated his doubts about WhatsApp’s data security practices. “WhatsApp exports your user data every night. Some people still think it is secure.”
Previously, when Instagram said that it would prioritize original content over reposted material in its recommendations. Musk seemed to agree with a user’s humorous suggestion that this change would result in a 99% drop in Instagram content, implying that the majority of the platform’s content is duplicated.
Photo via Wikimedia
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