Meta Vice President and Chief Synthetic Intelligence Scientist Jan LeCun and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, have engaged in a battle of nerds that might change into essentially the most well-known of 2024 on social media.
Whereas LeCun and Musk have been feuding on X.com because it was known as Twitter, this latest spat introduced issues again into full swing, with each males pouring vitriol at one another.
Apparently, it began when LeCun hijacked Musk’s X submit promoting a job opening at xAI, Musk’s synthetic intelligence firm.
From there, issues escalated daily till Sunday, June 2, when LeCun selected the metaphorical nuclear choice. The Meta AI boss has revealed a 379-word diatribe criticizing Musk’s remedy of scientists and calling the billionaire tycoon a hazard to society.
For perspective, the typical information article is often round 350-450 phrases.
However earlier than we get to LeCun’s tirade, which fits as far as to accuse Musk of spreading “loopy conspiracy theories” and making an attempt to destroy democracy, we have to perceive why one of many world’s most well-known pc scientists and probably the most well-known enterprise tycoons of all time struggle first.
Musk’s public spat with Meta dates again to when he was an everyday blue-check Twitter consumer (whereas Meta was known as Fb). For instance, again in 2020, he famously responded to criticism from a Fb AI scientist by tweeting that “Fb sucks.”
Flash ahead to the week of Might 27, 2024, and we’ll see Turing Prize winner LeCun throw some shade in response to a job posting at Musk’s AI firm XAI:
Within the ensuing alternate between LeCun, Musk and lots of viewers who turned commenters, Musk questioned LeCun’s scientific acumen — responding to LeCun’s submit with the phrases, “What science have you ever been doing within the final 5 years?” — and hinted that LeCun lacked the smarts to run the He is Simply Following Orders marketing campaign in one other capability.
Musk followers could be aware that this explicit alternate could possibly be thought of tame on the a part of the billionaire. However LeCun, clearly making an attempt to set the report straight from his viewpoint, could have simply escalated the feud to its highest degree.
After the opening traces proven above, during which LeCun mentions that he owns two Teslas and enjoys the corporate’s merchandise, issues take a flip for the more serious. He lambasted Musk for his remedy of scientists and for the “noise” he made lately in regards to the promise that AGI can be achieved by 2025.
He then accused Musk of undermining democracy:
“Say no matter you need about ‘conventional media’, however you may’t have dependable info with out skilled journalists working for a free and numerous press. Democracy can not exist with out it, so solely authoritarian enemies (sic) of democracy insurgent towards the media.”
And maybe LeCun’s most inflammatory remarks characterised Musk as a conspiracy theorist who spreads lies and misinformation:
“In any case, he appears to haven’t any qualms about spreading loopy conspiracy theories once they serve his pursuits (e.g. the rise of ‘PizzaGate’, ‘unlawful immigrants corrupt US elections’, ‘X-man is a pedant’, .. .) . A technological visionary could be anticipated to be a rationalist. Rationalism doesn’t work with out Reality.’
As of this writing, Musk has but to reply to LeCun’s latest feedback.
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