Scoop: Meta won't offer future multimodal AI models in EU

https://www.axios.com/2024/07/17/meta-future-multimodal-ai-models-eu

by benbristow • 2 years ago

12 16 2 years ago

htrp• 2 years ago

Meta says its decision also means that European companies will not be able to use the multimodal models even though they are being released under an open license.

seems like a dig at those French AI national champions

linotype2• 2 years ago

It’s telling that a company as privacy conscious (relatively speaking) and as deep pocketed as Apple can’t figure out how to comply with EU regulations: “ Apple similarly said last month that it won't release its Apple Intelligence features in Europe because of regulatory concerns.”

isodev• 2 years ago

Big difference between can't and won't. Apple is clearly in the "we're going to be as difficult as possible because we don't like it" category. Meta is not too far behind (already annoyed by all the things that don't let them just spy on everyone in order to super-boost their ads).

lccerina• 2 years ago

"unpredictable nature of European regulatory environment" reads as "8 years after GDPR, we still design our stuff mass surveillance style, and that may be problematic. Glad to live in an unpredictable country if it protects me from crap products that spy on me.

input_sh2• 2 years ago

As the article already points out, there's a new, more relevant bogeyman in town: AI Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence_Act).

linotype2• 2 years ago

That reads like a gift to US and Chinese tech companies. Also explains why Apple isn’t launching in EU:

“Like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, the Act can apply extraterritorially to providers from outside the EU if they have users within the EU.”

imiric2• 2 years ago

As the article points out:

Meta's issue isn't with the still-being-finalized AI Act, but rather with how it can train models using data from European customers while complying with GDPR — the EU's existing data protection law.

Kostic• 2 years ago

Hopefully just EU and not the European countries outside of EU.

skilled2• 2 years ago

Hopefully all of them.

beardyw• 2 years ago

What? You think non EU countries should be affected by EU decisions?

automatic6131• 2 years ago

Oh dear, how will they live without the ability to make low budget smoothed over pictures of an anthropomorphic pickle dunking a basketball from a voice prompt. Truly, those dreadful europeans will suffer. /s

nope10002• 2 years ago

If that's the tradeoff for them not training on our photos and videos, then I am happy with that. However I suspect they might do it anyway, and it will just be harder for us to find out.

imiric2• 2 years ago

Perfect example of corporate doublespeak.

"The EU regulatory environment is unpredictable" translates to "our products don't comply with regulation, and we'd rather not get fined". It's good that the fines are high enough and enforced now that companies are at least afraid of them.

Meta is still having issues complying with the GDPR, which has been in place for 6 years now. There's nothing "unpredictable" about it.

A Meta representative told Axios that training on European data is key to ensuring its products properly reflect the terminology and culture of the region.

Sure. You just can't hoover up data without people's consent, as you normally do. What a concept.

Scoop: Meta won't offer future multimodal AI models in EU

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