SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference and exhibition focusing on computer graphics, interactive techniques, and related fields. In SIGGRAPH 2024, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stole the spotlight as they discussed the transformative potential of open-source AI and AI assistants.
For context, Zuckerberg and Huang engaged in a light-hearted discussion in the most anticipated panel feature in SIGGRAPH 2024. Their conversation included the unveiling of Segment Anything 2, the launch of AI Studio, the importance of open-source AI and their vision for the future of AI.
The two even had time to exchange jerseys on stage, which led to unexpectedly weird things as Huang began roasting Zuckerberg’s tomato-slicing habits, his makeover, and his ranch in Hawaii. The two seemed to be in casual mode as Zuckerberg even dropped an F-bomb unintentionally when speaking about closed-source platforms. Listed below are everything you need to know about their conversation in SIGGRAPH 2024.
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Mark Zuckerberg Starts SIGGRAPH 2024 Discussion with AI Studio
Starting his discussion with Huang at SIGGRAPH 2024, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Meta is launching AI Studio. According to Zuckerberg, AI Studio comes with their recently announced LLAMA 3.1, a new platform that allows users to create, share and discover AI characters, making AI more accessible to millions of creators and small businesses.
Based on their article on About Meta, users can select different prompt templates or start from scratch to make an AI that teaches them how to cook, helps with their Instagram captions, and generates memes to make their friends laugh. Users can also choose whether to use the AI platform for their own purposes or share it with their friends by making it available for anyone to discover and chat with on Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
In support, Huang stated: “Every single restaurant, every single website will probably, in the future, have these AIs. You guys have done amazing AI work. We all use Pytorch, which comes from Meta.”
Segment Anything 2 Unveiled at SIGGRAPH 2024
After Meta’s success with Segment Anything last year, Mark Zuckerberg debuted Segment Anything 2 in SIGGRAPH 2024 during his discussion with Huang. Segment Anything 2, or the segmentation model, refers to a unique computer vision model that can look at an image and describe what it’s seeing. For example, it can identify a dog partially obscured by a tree with the phrase “this is a dog, this is a tree behind the dog” and not “this is a tree growing out of a dog.”
According to Zuckerberg, the sequel is a significant improvement on the original model as Segment Anything 2 retains the capabilities to identify specific objects and things within an image from the original, but in videos. “Scientists use this stuff to study like coral reefs and natural habitats, things like that. But being able to do this in video and have it be zero-shot and tell it what you want. It’s pretty cool.”
Naturally, the model requires massive data to train, and Zuckerberg revealed the Meta utilised 50,000 specific videos to train SA2 in its paper. However, there is also a part in the paper that states SA2’s second database has over 100,000 “internally available” videos for training, which Zuckerberg has not commented on. Although, we suspect it would be user-generated content from Facebook and Instagram.
Regardless, users can now try the open-sourced model on Github or the free demo available here.
Meta and NVIDIA CEO Discuss The Importance of Open-Source AI
Before his discussion with Huang at SIGGRAPH 2024, Zuckerberg had already openly stated he hated closed-source AI, as it showed during the panel discussion. “There have just been too many things I’ve tried to build and told ‘nah, you can’t really build that’ by the platform provider, that at some level I’m just like, ‘Nah, fuck that. For the next generation, we’re going to build all the way down.”
He quickly chuckled and apologised: “Yeah, sorry. We were doing OK for 20 minutes, but get me talking about closed platforms, and I get angry.” He also reinstated his selfish preference for open-source by stating: “I’m kind of hopeful that in the next generation of computing, we’re going to return to a zone where the open ecosystem wins and is the leading one again.”
However, when discussing the debate of the openness of AI and Meta’s goodwill, he clarified: “There will always be open and closed. I’m not a zealot on this. Not everything we do is open. But in general, there’s a lot of value if the software, especially, is open.”
He continued: “This isn’t just like a piece of software that you can build — you need an ecosystem around it. It almost wouldn’t even work that well if we didn’t open-source it, right? We’re not doing this because we’re altruistic people, even though I think that this is going to be helpful for the ecosystem — we’re doing it because we think that this is going to make the thing that we’re building the best.”
Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang Share Their Fusion Vision of AI
Ending things on their panel at SIGGRAPH 2024, the two CEOs shared their perspective on the future of AI before the two began their bantered jersey swap on stage. In Huang’s perspective, he emphasises how interacting with AIs is becoming more fluid, moving beyond just text-based interactions.
“Today’s AI is kind of turn-based. You say something, and it says something back to you. In the future, AI could contemplate multiple options or come up with a tree of options and simulate outcomes, making it much more powerful.”
As for the Meta CEO, he expressed optimism about bringing AI together with the real world through eyeglasses — noting his company’s collaboration with eyewear maker Luxotic — to help transform education, entertainment and work. Moreover, he stated that he hopes Facebook and Instagram can generate AI doubles of social media influencers and content creators in the future that act like “an agent or assistant that their community can interact with.”
He explained that some creators don’t have enough hours a day to engage with their followers how they would like to. Thus, if they have a digital twin of themselves, influencers could engage in direct messaging with their followers.
Mark Zuckerberg Brings About Terrifying Possibility in SIGGRAPH 2024
Rather than focusing on the new announcements in SIGGRAPH 2024, the ending future vision of Mark Zuckerberg sparks a chilling possibility in the future. The concept of “digital doubles,” also known as digital twins or virtual avatars, refers to creating highly realistic and detailed digital replicas of real-world individuals.
While it seems far-fetched now, advances in computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and data processing have made digital doubles increasingly feasible and realistic. For example, advanced motion capture, rendering, and AI-driven simulation technologies required for achieving high levels of realism in digital doubles complex human appearance, movement, and behaviour modelling are already a reality with deepfakes.
With deepfakes already increased dramatically in 2024, with an upwards of 245% YoY increase in deepfakes worldwide, the potential misuse of digital double technology poses significant ethical challenges, including the spread of misinformation and damage to reputations. Moreover, it raises questions about consent, ownership, and the right to digital likeness.
Nevertheless, the development of digital doubles offers exciting possibilities, but it also requires careful consideration of ethical, legal, and technical challenges to ensure responsible use and protection of individuals’ rights. For more AI and tech-related news, follow our Twitter for timely updates about the latest technology shaping our future.
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