Llama AI News & updates this week

Billionaire Ambani taps Google, Meta to build India’s AI backbone

techcrunch.com • Aug 29, 2025

Reliance is launching a new subsidiary to drive India's AI ambitions, including a pending partnership with OpenAI....

TL;DR

Reliance Industries, led by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, has launched a new subsidiary called Reliance Intelligence to build the country's AI backbone through strategic partnerships with Google Cloud, Meta, and potential future partnerships, including OpenAI.

Key Takeaways:

Reliance will partner with Google Cloud to build a dedicated AI infrastructure in India with a major data center in Jamnagar.
The Reliance-Meta joint venture committing ₹8.5 billion ($100 million) will offer Meta's Llama-based enterprise AI platform-as-a-service, including pre-configured AI solutions for various sectors.
Reliance plans to expand beyond India, take its flagship subsidiary Reliance Jio Platforms to international markets, and file for an initial public offering in the first half of 2026.

Judge denies Meta’s request to dismiss sexual harassment lawsuit filed by early employee

techcrunch.com • Aug 27, 2025

Stonelake, who worked at Meta from 2009 until being laid off in early 2024, filed the suit against Meta in Washington state earlier this year, allegin...

TL;DR

A US judge has denied Meta's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former employee Kelly Stonelake, who alleges sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation.

Key Takeaways:

Meta's lawsuit dismissal request was partially rejected by the judge, allowing Stonelake's claims of retaliation, failure to promote, and sexual harassment to proceed.
Stonelake's allegations are just one of the high-profile complaints Meta has faced, including a lawsuit from former public policy lead Sarah Wynn-Williams.
A joint status report is due from Stonelake and Meta in mid-September, marking the next stage in the ongoing lawsuit.

Meta to spend tens of millions on pro-AI super PAC

techcrunch.com • Aug 26, 2025

Meta's new PAC signals an intent to influence statewide elections, including the next governor’s race in 2026....

TL;DR

Meta plans to launch a super PAC to support California candidates favoring a light-touch approach to AI regulation.

Key Takeaways:

Meta will invest tens of millions into its new lobbying group to influence statewide elections in California.
The social media giant has already targeted and lobbied against specific bills, including the Kids Online Safety Act and SB-53.
The new super PAC signals Meta's intent to influence the next governor's race in 2026 and maintain California's technology leadership.

Cracks are forming in Meta’s partnership with Scale AI

techcrunch.com • Aug 30, 2025

Two months after making a $14.3B investment in Scale AI, Meta is relying heavily on its competitors to train next generation AI models....

TL;DR

Meta's investment in Scale AI is facing challenges, with the company's data quality questioned by Meta's researchers and a reliance on competing data providers.

Key Takeaways:

Meta's researchers express preference to work with Scale AI competitors Surge and Mercor due to perceived low quality of Scale AI's data.
Meta is exploring data from multiple vendors, including Mercor and Surge, instead of exclusively relying on Scale AI.
Meta's AI unit has been plagued by tensions and departures, including some top researchers who left Meta after joining from Scale AI and OpenAI.

Meta updates chatbot rules to avoid inappropriate topics with teen users

techcrunch.com • Aug 29, 2025

After a bombshell report on Meta allowing its AI chatbots to have sensual chats with minors, the company is updating its policies....

TL;DR

Meta is changing its AI chatbot training to prioritize teen safety, no longer engaging them on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations.

Key Takeaways:

Meta's AI chatbots will now be trained to guide teens to expert resources instead of engaging on sensitive topics.
Teen access to certain AI characters that could hold inappropriate conversations will be limited, only allowing access to characters that promote education and creativity.
The policy changes are part of ongoing efforts to improve child safety measures following controversy sparked by a Reuters investigation into Meta's AI policies.

Researchers Are Already Leaving Meta’s New Superintelligence Lab

www.wired.com • Aug 26, 2025

CEO Mark Zuckerberg went on a recruiting blitz to lure top AI researchers to Meta. WIRED has confirmed that three recent hires have now resigned....

Meta is spending $10B in rural Louisiana to build its largest data center

fortune.com • Aug 26, 2025

Article URL: https://fortune.com/2025/08/24/meta-data-center-rural-louisiana-framework-ai-power-boom/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?...

TL;DR

Meta is investing $10 billion in rural Louisiana to build the world's largest data center, 'Hyperion', to support its AI ambitions.

Key Takeaways:

The Hyperion project could use the energy equivalent of 4 million homes and become the world's biggest data center project.
Utilities like Entergy will need to build new gas-fired power plants to meet the enormous energy demands of Big Tech's data centers.
The deal could set a precedent for future deals between utilities and Big Tech, potentially leading to a surge in new gas-fired power plants nationwide.

Meta might be secretly scanning your phone's camera roll

www.zdnet.com • Aug 29, 2025

Article URL: https://www.zdnet.com/article/meta-might-be-secretly-scanning-your-phones-camera-roll-how-to-check-and-turn-it-off/ Comments URL: https:/...

TL;DR

Meta may be secretly scanning users' phone camera rolls without explicit consent to provide AI-powered suggestions, and users must check their Facebook app settings to turn off the feature.

Key Takeaways:

Meta's camera roll sharing suggestions are not turned on by default, but users must explicitly opt-out.
The feature allows Meta to analyze and retain users' private photos and videos, raising serious privacy concerns.
Users can check and turn off the feature by going to Facebook app settings > Settings and Privacy > Camera roll sharing suggestions and disabling both toggles.

Meta is struggling to rein in its AI chatbots

www.theverge.com • Yesterday

Meta is changing some of the rules governing its chatbots two weeks after a Reuters investigation revealed disturbing ways in which they could, potent...

TL;DR

Meta is making interim changes to its AI chatbot policies to avoid interactions with minors, but alarming behaviors like AI-generated risque images and direct impersonation remain, raising concerns about enforcement.

Key Takeaways:

Meta's AI chatbots are currently allowed to engage in conversations with minors around self-harm, suicide, or disordered eating.
The company has removed some AI-generated risque images but many remain, including those generated by its employees.
Meta's policies have been criticized for allowing chatbots to impersonate celebrities and engage in romantic or sensual conversations with users.

Meta and Yandex Disclosure: Covert Web-to-App Tracking via Localhost on Android

localmess.github.io • Yesterday

Article URL: https://localmess.github.io?new Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45077353 Points: 51 # Comments: 9...

TL;DR

Meta and Yandex use a novel tracking method to connect mobile browsing sessions and web cookies to user identities on billions of Android users

Key Takeaways:

The method bypasses typical privacy protections such as clearing cookies, Incognito Mode, and Android's permission controls.
A malicious app can intercept and use the web-to-native ID sharing for malicious purposes, exposing browsing history.
Approximately 5.8 million websites use Meta Pixel, and over 3 million websites use Yandex Metrica, with 25% of top million websites affected.

Showrunner wants to turn you into a happy little content prompter for the ‘Netflix of AI’

www.theverge.com • Aug 29, 2025

As one of the cofounders behind Oculus Story Studio, Edward Saatchi knows how hard it can be to sell people on new tech that bills itself as revolutio...

TL;DR

Showrunner, a new AI-powered platform from Fable, aims to gamify Hollywood's pivot to AI and enable users to create custom content by prompting AI-generated scenes.

Key Takeaways:

Showrunner uses generative AI to create scenes based on user prompts, with the goal of producing a new kind of interactive entertainment experience.
The platform currently offers a free service, but plans to introduce a paid subscription model at a cost of $10-$20 per month.
Fable aims to partner with major studios like Disney to develop branded models that can generate scenes based on licensed IP, enabling users to create millions of new scenes and episodes.

What’s really happening with the hires at Meta Superintelligence Labs

www.theverge.com • Aug 29, 2025

In June, Mark Zuckerberg went for the ultimate Hail Mary in the ever-intensifying AI race: He spun up a brand-new Meta AI lab after making a $14.3 bil...

TL;DR

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta spent billions hiring AI talent for its Superintelligence Labs, but with a hiring freeze and restructuring, the company faces a challenge in retaining its top researchers and engineers.

Key Takeaways:

Meta spent $14.3 billion on acquiring Scale AI and billions more on hiring top AI researchers and engineers.
Only one active staffer, Ethan Knight, has left the TBD Lab so far, but several others have announced their departures from Meta's Superintelligence organization.
Meta plans to restructure its Superintelligence division into three areas: research, product, and infrastructure, with a focus on retaining business-critical roles.