Meta’s AI Research Chief to step down
International Desk
Joelle Pineau, the head of Meta’s artificial intelligence research division, has announced her decision to step down, leaving a key role amid growing competition in AI development.Pineau, Meta’s vice president for AI research, said Tuesday that she will depart at the end of May after eight years with the company."As the world undergoes significant change, the race for AI intensifies, and Meta embarks on its next chapter, it is time to make room for others to carry forward this work," she shared in a social media post.Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has not yet commented on her departure, and Pineau has not named a successor.Based in Montreal, where she is also a computer science professor at McGill University, Pineau has played a key role in Meta’s “open-source” AI strategy. She has been instrumental in developing Llama, the company’s flagship large language model, which allows public access to its core components for modification and use.Her resignation comes just weeks before Meta hosts its first-ever LlamaCon AI conference on April 29.Pineau took over leadership of Meta’s AI research division in 2023. The division, originally known as Facebook AI Research, was founded a decade ago by a team that included renowned AI scientist Yann LeCun. While LeCun stepped down as director in 2018, he continues to serve as Meta’s chief AI scientist.
