Meta’s chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun (Julien De Rosa/Getty Images)

Tension emerges between Meta’s AI teams

Discontent between Meta’s AI research teams is growing, according to a report by The Information, at a critical time for Meta’s effort to get back into the AI race.

Jon Keegan

10/2/25 12:06PM

Long before Mark Zuckerberg pivoted Meta away from its quest for virtual reality to “bring personal superintelligence to everyone,” Meta’s research group FAIR was a powerhouse of important AI research, in addition to working on earlier iterations of the company’s Llama AI models. The group is headed by OG AI legend Yann LeCun, who is a pioneer in neural networks and computer vision.

The FAIR group operates like an academic research lab within Meta, publishing research papers and sharing work with the wider community. But since Meta’s stumble with its Llama 4 AI model, Zuckerberg went on an unprecedented hiring spree of AI all-stars, poaching top researchers from Meta’s competitors to build out a new “Superintelligence team.”

Now, The Information is reporting that there are new tensions between the AI groups, which could have huge ramifications for Meta’s AI research.

Per the report, several changes to how FAIR operates are causing friction. A new layer of review has been imposed on FAIR’s research before publication, and the company has been pressuring the group to direct its work more toward Meta products rather than the wider AI research community.

Adding to this, LeCun appeared to be sidelined when 28-year-old college dropout Alexandr Wang was hired from Scale AI and named chief AI officer. Later, when Meta recruited Shengjia Zhao, the cocreator of ChatGPT, away from OpenAI, Zhao was named “chief scientist of Meta Superintelligence Labs.” Reportedly, the title was given to Zhao to appease him after he threatened to return to OpenAI, going so far as to sign HR paperwork with his former employer.

According to two Information sources, LeCun has discussed with colleagues the possibility of quitting the role. And the nine-figure salaries offered to the Superintelligence team recruits aren’t helping. The rocky start to Meta Superintelligence Labs raises questions about how quickly the new strategy can get Meta back into the AI race.

Bad vibes

Last week, Meta announced “Vibes,” a feed of AI-generated videos that appears in the Meta AI app. But the announcement was quickly dwarfed by the attention on OpenAI’s invite-only Sora app, featuring short videos generated from its new Sora 2 video generation model, which appears to set a new, high standard for the quality of such technology.

The buzz around Sora is real: it’s now No. 3 on the iOS App Store free apps leaderboard despite being invitation-only, while Meta AI sits at No. 97.

Max Knoblauch2h

Tesla’s 45 Austin Robotaxis now have 14 crashes on the books since launching in June

Since launching in June 2025, Tesla’s 45 Austin Robotaxis have been involved in 14 crashes, per Electrek reporting citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Electrek analysis found that the vehicles have traveled roughly 800,000 paid miles in that time period, amounting to a crash every 57,000 miles. According to the NHTSA, US drivers crash once every 500,000 miles on average.

The article says Tesla submitted five new crash reports in January of this year that happened in December and January. Electrek wrote:

“The new crashes include a collision with a fixed object at 17 mph while the vehicle was driving straight, a crash with a bus while the Tesla was stationary, a collision with a heavy truck at 4 mph, and two separate incidents where the Tesla backed into objects, one into a pole or tree at 1 mph and another into a fixed object at 2 mph.”

Tesla updated a previously reported crash that was originally filed as only having damaged property to include a passenger’s hospitalization.

Last month, Tesla shares climbed after CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X that the company’s Austin Robotaxis had begun operating without a safety monitor.

Tesla 'Robotaxi' adds 5 more crashes in Austin in a month — 4x worse than humans

The article says Tesla submitted five new crash reports in January of this year that happened in December and January. Electrek wrote:

“The new crashes include a collision with a fixed object at 17 mph while the vehicle was driving straight, a crash with a bus while the Tesla was stationary, a collision with a heavy truck at 4 mph, and two separate incidents where the Tesla backed into objects, one into a pole or tree at 1 mph and another into a fixed object at 2 mph.”

Tesla updated a previously reported crash that was originally filed as only having damaged property to include a passenger’s hospitalization.

Last month, Tesla shares climbed after CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X that the company’s Austin Robotaxis had begun operating without a safety monitor.

Jon Keegan2/13/26

Ahead of IPO, Anthropic adds veteran executive and former Trump administration official to board

Anthropic is moving to put the pieces in place for a successful IPO this year.

Today, the company announced that Chris Liddel would join its board of directors.

Liddel is an seasoned executive who previously served as CFO for Microsoft, GM, and International Paper.

Liddel also comes with experience in government, having served as the deputy White House chief of staff during the first Trump administration.

Ties to the Trump world could be helpful for Anthropic as it pushes to enter the public market. It’s reportedly not on the greatest terms with the current administration, as the startup has pushed back on using its Claude AI for surveillance applications.

Exclusive | Anthropic Adds New Board Member as It Eyes IPO

Liddel is an seasoned executive who previously served as CFO for Microsoft, GM, and International Paper.

Liddel also comes with experience in government, having served as the deputy White House chief of staff during the first Trump administration.

Rani Molla2/13/26

Meta is bringing back facial recognition for its smart glasses

Meta is reviving its highly controversial facial recognition efforts, with plans to incorporate the tech into its smart glasses as soon as this year, The New York Times reports.

In 2021, around the time Facebook rebranded as Meta, the company shut down the facial recognition software it had used to tag people in photos, saying it needed to “find the right balance.”

Now, according to an internal memo reviewed by the Times, Meta seems to feel that it’s at least found the right moment, noting that the fraught and crowded political climate could allow the feature to attract less scrutiny.

“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the document reads.

The tech, called “Name Tag” internally, would let smart glass wearers identify and surface information about people they see with the glasses by using Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant.

Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses

“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the document reads.

The tech, called “Name Tag” internally, would let smart glass wearers identify and surface information about people they see with the glasses by using Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant.

Tom Jones

the elder scrolls

2/13/26

Older Americans are spending more time on their phones than younger cohorts, per new data

Some members of the TikTok generation are (very slightly) less glued to their phones than other adults, it turns out.