AI godfather Yann LeCun calls Meta's 29-year-old AI chief inexperienced, warns of staff exodus

AI godfather says Meta's new 29-year-old AI boss is 'inexperienced' and warns of staff exodus

Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta Platforms Inc., at the VivaTech conference in Paris, France, on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Meta's former chief AI scientist, Yann Lecun, has called its 29-year-old AI boss "inexperienced," and warned of a staff exodus from the company. Alexander Wang, the billionaire co-founder of Scale AI, joined Meta as its chief AI officer in 2025 after the tech giant bought a 49% stake in his startup. His hiring came amid an intensifying AI talent war, in which Meta reportedly offered $100 million signing bonuses to poach top talent from ChatGPT maker OpenAI, as it raced other hyperscalers to dominate the multibillion-dollar AI market with the most advanced models. Lecun, who's known as one of the "godfathers of AI" and quit Meta in November, called Wang "young" and "inexperienced" in an interview with the Financial Times. "He learns fast, he knows what he doesn't know," Lecun said of Wang, who heads up Meta's new AI research unit TBD Labs and is tasked with building new AI models. But Lecun added: "There's no experience with research or how you practise research, how you do it. Or what would be attractive or repulsive to a researcher." Lecun, 65, added that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg "basically lost confidence in everyone who was involved" after the company was accused of gaming benchmarks to make its Llama 4 model look more impressive. Zuckerberg "basically sidelined the entire Gen AI organization," Lecun said. "A lot of people have left, a lot of people who haven't yet left will leave," Lecun added. "We had a lot of new ideas and really cool stuff that they should implement. But they were just going for things that were essentially safe and proved," he added. "When you do this, you fall behind." CNBC contacted Meta for a response, but had not received a response as this story went live.

Mark Zuckerberg's Former Top AI Scientist Reveals Exactly Why He Quit

In a new interview with The Financial Times, Yann LeCun, one of the so-called godfathers of AI, finally dished on his abrupt exit from Meta in November. From how he tells it, most of it boils down to his increasingly fraught relationship with CEO Mark Zuckerberg -- and his new golden boy, Alexandr Wang, who ended up bossing LeCun around even though he's nearly four decades younger. LeCun had been at Zuckerberg's company for over a decade, where, as chief AI scientist, he had the freedom to carry out all kinds of esoteric AI research without necessarily having to worry about developing a profitable product. LeCun described Meta, then Facebook, as a "tabula rasa with a carte blanche." "Money was clearly not going to be a problem," he told the FT. Then, in November 2022, ChatGPT came out, and the whole world went bananas for AI chatbots. AI chatbots and their human-like capabilities for conversation are powered by large language models, something LeCun helped pioneer with his foundational work on neural networks. When Zuckerberg ordered LeCun develop Meta's own LLM, he agreed under the condition that Llama would be open source and free. The Llama models "changed the entire industry," LeCun said, and were a hit with AI researchers because of their power and open source nature. The success didn't last, though; the latest Llama 4 model, released last April, was dead on arrival and reviled as an instantly-outdated flop. LeCun blames the failure on Zuckerberg pressuring LeCun's unit to accelerate AI development. "We had a lot of new ideas and really cool stuff that they should implement. But they were just going for things that were essentially safe and proved," LeCun told the FT. "When you do this, you fall behind." The rift, however, goes deeper. LeCun views LLMs as a "dead end" for building even more powerful, "superintelligent" models that rival or surpass human capabilities. An entirely different architecture called "world models" which seek to understand the physical world, not just language, is needed to make the next major leap in the tech. According to LeCun, Zuckerberg actually liked LeCun's world model research, but didn't put his money where his mouth is. Instead, Zuckerberg launched a new LLM-focused Superintelligence Labs last year, separate from LeCun's lab, and offered several hundred million dollar contracts to attract top talent. All the talent that came in, LeCun complained, have been "completely LLM-pilled." Zuckerberg's marquee new-hire was Alexandr Wang, the founder and former CEO of the AI data annotation startup Scale AI, which provides an essential service for training AI models, but doesn't build or design them. Zuckerberg poured $14 billion into Scale AI to buy a 49 percent stake and, as part of that deal, Wang left and joined Meta to lead the new Superintelligence Labs. As a consequence, LeCun was forced to start reporting to Wang. The move raised questions from the get-go, including whether Wang, 29, had the experience and background to build massive AI models, something his company didn't do. LeCun doesn't leave us wondering where he stands on Wang's hiring, calling him "young" and "inexperienced." Be that as it may, LeCun, considered to be a godfather of the entire field, was now taking orders from Wang. LeCun seemed cool about this at first when the interviewer brought up the new hierarchy. "The average age of a Facebook engineer at the time was 27," Lecun told the FT. "I was twice the age of the average engineer." But when the interviewer pointed out that the younger generation weren't telling him what to do until the 29-year-old Wang showed up, LeCun seemingly let his true feelings be known. "Alex isn't telling me what to do either," LeCun sneered. "You don't tell a researcher what to do. You certainly don't tell a researcher like me what to do." He'll be his own boss going forward. LeCun has launched a new world-model-focused startup called Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs, which is targeting a $3 billion valuation. LeCun will serve as executive chairman, allowing him a similar degree of freedom to pursue research he once enjoyed at Meta, according to the FT.

Ex-Meta AI Chief Slams New Boss as 'Young' and 'Inexperienced'

Meta's AI shake-up is backfiring, says one of the company's former leaders. Yann LeCun, Meta's former chief AI scientist known as a "godfather of AI," called the company's new 29-year-old AI boss Alexandr Wang "young" and "inexperienced" in an interview with the Financial Times. Wang became LeCun's manager after Meta invested $15 billion in his startup Scale AI. LeCun revealed that CEO Mark Zuckerberg "basically sidelined the entire GenAI organization" after Llama 4 flopped and the team was accused of fudging benchmarks. "A lot of people have left, a lot of people who haven't yet left will leave," he said. The new hires are "completely LLM-pilled," LeCun added, saying LLMs are "a dead end when it comes to superintelligence."

Former Meta Scientist Says Mark Zuckerberg's New AI Chief Is 'Young' And 'Inexperienced' -- Warns 'Lot Of People' Who Haven't Yet Left Meta 'Will Leave'

Former Meta scientist and AI pioneer Yann LeCun has openly questioned Meta Platforms Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) AI leadership overhaul. LeCun Questions Wang's Research Credentials In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, LeCun described Wang, 28, as "young" and "inexperienced," arguing that the Scale AI co-founder lacks a deep understanding of how elite AI research teams operate. LeCun said Alexandr Wang is intelligent and learns quickly, but does not yet grasp what attracts -- or alienates -- top researchers. He added that while Wang briefly became his boss following Meta's AI reorganization, he was not actively directing his work. He noted that people usually should not tell senior scientists like him how to conduct their work. Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. See Also: Meta Resets AI, Hardware Plans As 'Avocado' Delays, Leadership Turmoil, Cost Cuts Mount Meta's $14 Billion AI Bet And Llama Fallout Wang's appointment followed Meta's $14 billion investment in Scale AI, part of Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive push to regain momentum in the AI race. LeCun said the move came after Zuckerberg grew frustrated with slow progress on Meta's flagship open-source model, Llama. According to LeCun, internal confidence eroded after Meta was criticized for allegedly overstating benchmark results tied to Llama 4. He said the controversy angered Zuckerberg and led him to sideline much of Meta's existing generative AI organization. He said that "a lot of people" have already left Meta and those who haven't yet "will leave." LLMs 'A Dead End,' LeCun Says LeCun, who announced in November that he is leaving Meta to launch a new startup called Advanced Machine Intelligence, also reiterated his long-held belief that large language models are fundamentally limited. He said people at Meta would like him not to call LLMs "a dead end," but he will not change his mind just because others think he is wrong. He said true artificial intelligence will require new architectures beyond LLMs, even if that view clashes with Meta's current priorities. Meta Doubles Down On AI With Manus AI Acquisition In December, Meta ramped up its AI push by acquiring Manus AI, a fast-rising Chinese startup specializing in autonomous agents. The Manus deal adds to Meta's broader AI push this year, following its investment in Scale AI that valued the data-labeling company at $29 billion and pulled Wang into Meta's leadership circle. Price Action: In the past 12 months, Meta shares have been up 3.21%, according to Benzinga Pro. Meta carries a consensus price target of $831.64 based on ratings from 38 analysts. The three latest ratings -- from Rosenblatt, Baird and Wedbush imply an average price target of $937.33, suggesting roughly 44.2% upside from current levels. Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate that Meta carries a bearish medium and long-term outlook, even as its stock continues to show a positive trend in the short term. Click here to see how it compares with peers. Read Next: Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Might Never Have Happened If Not For One Cold Email -- EssilorLuxottica's Rocco Basilico Reveals How It All Started Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock $METAMetadiumNot Available-%OverviewMETAMeta Platforms Inc$649.94-0.07%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AI godfather Yann LeCun calls Meta billionaire AI chief Alexandr Wang 'inexperienced' - VnExpress International

Yann LeCun, often described as one of the "godfathers of AI," said Alexandr Wang does not yet have sufficient practical research experience, despite now leading Meta's flagship superintelligence project. "He learns fast, he knows what he doesn't know," LeCun, 65, who served as Meta's chief AI scientist before announcing in November 2025 that he was leaving to form his own startup, said of Wang, 29, in a recent interview with the Financial Times. "There's no experience with research or how you practice research, how you do it. Or what would be attractive or repulsive to a researcher." In June 2025, Meta invested $15 billion in data-labeling startup Scale AI and recruited its chief executive and co-founder, Wang. Once briefly the world's youngest self-made billionaire, Wang now has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, according to Forbes. He was placed in charge of Meta's artificial intelligence push and its research unit, known as TBD Lab, which is tasked with developing next-generation frontier AI models. The move briefly made Wang become LeCun's direct superior. However, LeCun said Wang did not actively direct his work. "You don't tell a researcher what to do," LeCunn said. "You certainly don't tell a researcher like me what to do." In the same interview, LeCunn said Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg grew frustrated after disappointing progress on Llama, the company's flagship open-source AI model, and "basically lost confidence in everyone who was involved" after Meta was accused of gaming benchmarks to make its Llama 4 model appear more capable than it was, according to Business Insider. Zuckerberg "basically sidelined the entire Gen AI organization," Lecun said, describing a sharp internal reset following the controversy. LeCun has repeatedly argued that large language models are fundamentally limited and that unlocking more advanced forms of artificial intelligence requires a different approach. That belief underpins his new startup, reportedly named Advanced Machine Intelligence, which reflects the research direction he has long promoted as a more viable alternative to LLMs. Nabla, a health tech AI startup that partnered with LeCun's company last December, said in a press release that LLMs, unlike world models, "still face some structural constraints, including hallucinations, non-deterministic reasoning and limited handling of continuous multimodal data, which make autonomous decision-making challenging," CNBC reported.

Yann LeCun challenges Zuckerberg's AI shake-up, questions Alexandr Wang's role at Meta

The episode highlights a deeper divide at Meta, with LeCun arguing that LLMs are unlikely to deliver true superintelligence. Meta's aggressive approach to make its world-class AI team has already put the company into the spotlight amid a wave of high-profile talent reshuffles across the industry. As the top researchers are switching firms in search of bigger bets, Yann LeCun, the pioneering AI researcher who recently stepped away from his role as Meta's chief AI scientist, has openly questioned Mark Zuckerberg's decision to place Alexandr Wang at the helm of the company's new Superintelligence Labs. During an interview with the Financial Times, LeCun mentioned some doubts about Wang's readiness to lead cutting-edge AI research, arguing that the 28-year-old Scale AI cofounder is definitely quick to learn, but he lacks firsthand experience in running or practising academic-style research. According to LeCun, understanding what motivates top AI researchers and even what drives them away comes only with time spent inside research environments. Wang's appointment comes after Meta's aggressive AI talent push, which included a $14 billion investment in Scale AI and Wang's recruitment as a central figure in the company's AI reorganisation. This marks a big shift for Meta after internal frustration about the progress of its Llama models, particularly following controversy around benchmark results tied to Llama 4. LeCun also mentioned that those events broke Zuckerberg's confidence in Meta's existing generative AI leadership, leading to a broad sidelining of teams involved in the projects. Even after Wang briefly became his superior during the reshuffle, LeCun stated that the relationship was largely hands-off, underscoring that senior researchers are not typically "directed" in the traditional corporate sense. The comments also exposed a deeper philosophical divide within Meta AI's strategy. While Zuckerberg's latest hires are heavily focused on large language models, LeCun has long argued that LLMs are fundamentally limited and unlikely to deliver true superintelligence. He reiterated that belief, saying he would not compromise his scientific views despite internal disagreement. LeCun is now reportedly working on launching his own venture called Advanced Machine Intelligence. He will work as executive chair rather than CEO, acknowledging that his strengths lie in research vision rather than company management.