Yann LeCun, a foundational figure in AI, has become the “odd man out” at Meta, reportedly being sidelined due to his views.

He strongly disagrees with the company’s focus on Large Language Models (LLMs), which CEO Mark Zuckerberg is investing billions in to compete with ChatGPT and Gemini.

LeCun calls LLMs a “dead end” in the pursuit of true superintelligence, and has compared them unfavorably to the mind of a cat.

LeCun’s Vision and Potential Next Steps

LeCun believes “world models”—which learn by observing visual information like a child—are the future of AI.

He predicts world models will become the dominant AI architecture within three to five years, making current LLMs obsolete.

It was recently reported that LeCun may be leaving Meta to launch a startup focused on this technology.

Key Career Milestones

LeCun studied machine learning in the 1980s when the field was not popular.

He worked at Bell Labs, where he developed handwriting-recognition technology used by banks.

He taught at NYU and became the founding director of its Center for Data Science.

In 2013, Mark Zuckerberg personally recruited him to lead Meta’s new AI division, FAIR.

He won the 2018 A.M. Turing Award, computer science’s highest prize, for his foundational work on neural networks.

Recent Reorganization at Meta

LeCun stepped back from managing FAIR several years ago to become an individual contributor.

A recent restructuring appointed 28-year-old Alexandr Wang as Meta’s new chief AI officer, making him LeCun’s new boss.

Zuckerberg has publicly stated that LeCun’s role as Chief Scientist for FAIR remains unchanged.

However, LeCun’s FAIR division has reportedly faced resource cuts and lost prestige as Meta’s new leadership prioritizes rapid product development over long-term research.

LeCun continues to speak at conferences, advising Ph.D. students not to work on LLMs.