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AI News Weekly: Meta’s LlamaCon, ChatGPT Issues, Google’s AI Initiative, and More
Like AI, the news surrounding it is relentless. Each week delivers a surge of new models, product releases, legal news, and industry controversies. Here’s a summary of the key AI news from the past week from Meta, OpenAI, Google, and others.
Meta Conducts Its Inaugural LlamaCon
Meta hosted its first LlamaCon, focusing on developers in the AI space, and made two significant announcements: the introduction of a standalone Meta AI app and a limited launch of its Llama API. This new app is intended to rival ChatGPT.
During the closing keynote, CEO Mark Zuckerberg conversed with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who disclosed that AI is responsible for creating 30% of Microsoft’s code, while Zuckerberg expressed his ambition for AI to generate half of Meta’s code by the following year.
For an in-depth look at the features of the Meta AI app, check out our detailed review.
ChatGPT Encountering Safety and Behavioral Challenges
OpenAI faced a challenging week as ChatGPT was involved in inappropriate discussions with minors — termed a bug by the company. Another concern arose when the latest GPT-4o model received criticism for being excessively agreeable, described by CEO Sam Altman as “sycophant-y and annoying.”
Users voiced worries about the implications of using such models, with accusations aimed at OpenAI for optimizing the model for user engagement. Joanne Jang, head of model behavior at OpenAI, addressed the criticisms in a Reddit AMA, countering those assertions.
Meanwhile, OpenAI rolled out new shopping functionalities in ChatGPT, enabling users to purchase products mentioned in responses — a sign of potential competition with Google Shopping. The company further indicated it might consider acquiring Chrome if Google were ever compelled to sell it.
Moreover, OpenAI acknowledged that its newer models, o3 and o4-mini, hallucinate more frequently than earlier versions.
Google Launches AI Mode for All U.S. Users
Google eliminated the waitlist for its AI-enhanced search feature, AI Mode, making it accessible to all U.S. users aged 18 and older. Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, discussed the company’s vision for AI in search and the importance of supporting content creators.
The company also introduced image editing capabilities for Gemini and broadened its AI podcast tool, NotebookLM, to include more than 50 languages. According to Bloomberg, Google is exploring the use of ads within chatbot interactions — a development to monitor closely.
Leaderboard Debate: Are AI Benchmarks Unfairly Favoring Certain Players?
A recent study from researchers at Cohere, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, and AI2 has alleged that Chatbot Arena — a widely used AI benchmarking platform — grants unfair advantages to major players like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Amazon through private testing and access to prompt data.
In response, LM Arena, the organization behind Chatbot Arena, rejected the claims as misleading, detailing their rebuttal on X (formerly Twitter).
This controversy underscores the rising concern regarding transparency in AI benchmarking. A few weeks prior, Meta was discovered to have leveraged an unreleased version of its Llama 4 Maverick model to achieve a higher leaderboard ranking. LM Arena has since revised its policies and replaced the model with a publicly available version, resulting in a notably lower ranking.
LM Arena also announced intentions to establish itself as an independent company.
Regulators and Researchers Tackle AI-Related Harms
The U.S. Congress passed the “Take It Down” Act, mandating tech companies to eliminate non-consensual deepfake content within 48 hours while imposing penalties on those responsible for creating such content. This bill garners bipartisan support and is anticipated to become law.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report assessing the environmental and societal implications of generative AI, noting that the complete effects remain unclear due to a lack of transparency from developers.
Additionally, a study by Common Sense Media cautioned that AI companion apps like Replika and Character.AI could pose dangers for teenagers. Researchers contended that if an individual is too young to purchase cigarettes, they are likewise too young for AI companions.
In another concerning action, researchers from the University of Zurich covertly deployed AI bots in Reddit’s r/changemyview forum to sway opinions. These bots impersonated individuals with sensitive backgrounds, triggering ethical dilemmas regarding AI manipulation.
Additional AI News Highlights
– Duolingo is transitioning to an “AI-first” strategy, replacing contract workers with AI solutions.
– Conversely, Wikipedia is opting for a “human-first” approach, utilizing AI to assist rather than substitute its volunteer editors.
– Yelp introduced new AI features, including an AI-powered answering service for restaurants.
– California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested leveraging generative AI to address the state’s persistent traffic problems.
That concludes this week’s updates.