All you need to know about Llama 3.1, Meta's brand new AI model

Meta has unveiled its most advanced AI model to date, Llama 3.1, which is now available for free, as an open-source resource.

Announced on Tuesday, 23 July, by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Llama 3.1 is the 'world’s largest and most capable openly available foundation model' per Meta's blogspot.

In an open letter, Zuckerberg emphasised Meta's commitment to open-source development: 'Today we’re taking the next steps towards open source AI becoming the industry standard. We’re releasing Llama 3.1 405B, the first frontier-level open source AI model, as well as new and improved Llama 3.1 70B and 8B models.'

With more than 300 million total downloads of all Llama versions to date, Meta said that it's 'just getting started'.

'Llama 3.1 405B is in a class of its own, with unmatched flexibility, control, and state-of-the-art capabilities that rival the best closed source models,' says Meta.

But unlike OpenAI and Google’s latest models, Llama is not 'multimodal', meaning it is not built to handle images, audio and video, reported the Indian Express.

Mark Zuckerberg's letter argues that open-source AI, like Meta's new Llama 3.1 model, is the future of technology. He highlights too the benefits of open-source AI, including modifiability, security, cost-efficiency and fostering innovation.

Meanwhile, the company has also announced that the Meta AI, an assistant in Meta apps, is now going multilingual.

Meta AI, based on Llama 3.1, is now available in 22 countries, with its new language skills including Hindi, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Users can interact with Meta AI across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook.

'Llama 405B's improved reasoning capabilities make it possible for Meta AI to understand and answer your more complex questions, especially on the topics of maths and coding', the company said.

The AI model 'can get help on your maths homework, write code faster with debugging support and optimisation suggestions, and master complex technical and scientific concepts with expert instruction', it added.

The company noted that Meta AI will also be available on Ray-Ban Meta 'smart glasses' from next month on Meta Quest in the US and Canada, in an experimental mode.

With inputs from IANS