Meta launches new AI model as Zuckerberg champions open-weight push

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called for lower barriers for open-source AI models in the United States in order to compete with Chinese rivals. The social media giant released a new open-weight model, Muse Glimmer, on Monday. This smaller model is designed for agentic tasks and can run on a Mac or PC with a single graphics card, aiming to meet demand for AI systems that operate directly on people's devices. Meta is boosting its position following the formation of a new superintelligence team last year.

Zuckerberg's push for open-weight models comes as other businesses become wary of steep AI costs and recent cybersecurity incidents involving models from competitors. Open-source models are typically cheaper and allow for easier customization compared to closed-source systems from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.

In order to lead in open-weight models, Zuckerberg argues that the US needs to modify policies to reduce additional restrictions on training data. Foreign labs currently have advantages in this area, as American firms must comply with more stringent rules. Zuckerberg rejected the idea of restricting access to foreign open-source models as an effective solution.

Meta is also exploring AI model distillation, which involves using a powerful AI system to train a smaller model. The company plans to implement a governance structure, giving its independent directors the power to approve safety criteria for releasing models.