By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-04-02 04:21:39 | Updated at 2025-04-03 06:23:18
1 day ago
Meta Platforms head of artificial intelligence research (AI) plans to leave the company, creating a high-level vacancy just as Meta seeks to invest and compete aggressively in AI.
Joelle Pineau, the vice-president leading Meta’s Fundamental AI Research group, known as Fair, announced her departure on Tuesday. Pineau has been at the company for eight years, has led the Fair team since early 2023 and reports to chief product officer Chris Cox.
Her group oversees Meta’s AI research efforts, focused on everything from voice translation and image-recognition technology to the company’s open-source large language model, called Llama. The unit also explores development of what Meta calls “advanced machine intelligence”, or human-level intelligence for machines.
Pineau, who’s also a computer science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said she will remain at the company until May and then take some time to “observe and reflect”.
“Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” she wrote in her note to colleagues. Pineau also posted her announcement on social media.
Pineau’s departure risks complicating Meta’s effort to compete with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI on AI products and talent. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI Meta’s top priority, and said in January that the company would spend as much as US$65 billion on related projects this year.
