Latest news: metaverse in pharma

Meta Platforms has announced that it will offer researchers access to AI tools that emulate the “common sense” thought processes of the human brain to aid with image rendering. 

Meta’s model, named Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture (I-JEPA), learns to fill in the gaps of incomplete images, drawing on background understanding of the outside world rather than the pixels themselves, which is what similar models currently do. 

Rather than the AI system being trained in a “supervised” manner, by feeding it labelled datasets, much like a toddler learning identify a family member from a stranger, the model classifies images using comparisons. 

Meta said I-JEPA would offer a more efficient service than current AI software alternatives. 

The technology will avoid common errors displayed by other AI-generated images, Meta said. Such mishaps include duplicated or missing elements as was seen in the famous Midjourney generated image of Pope Francis wearing half a rosary. 

I-JEPA is based on French computer scientist, Yann LeCun’s hypothesis that the new architecture could overcome key limitations posed by today’s most advanced AI systems.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has requested a federal court to block the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) effort to impose new sanctions for alleged privacy violations. 

On 3 May, 2023, the FTC suggested tightening Facebook’s privacy agreement to include limiting the use of facial recognition and banning the company from profiting off children’s data.  

The FTC accused Facebook of purposefully misleading parents about its protections for children saying that Meta breached a 2019 agreement on privacy by being vague about how much access the app developers had to private data. 

Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, said Facebook’s “recklessness has put young users at risk,” adding that the company “needs to answer for its failures.” 

But Meta hit back by questioning why the FTC was only focusing on Meta while leaving popular video-sharing app TikTok unregulated. 

A spokesperson for Meta said: “Let’s be clear about what the FTC is trying to do: usurp the authority of Congress to set industry-wide standards and instead single out an American company while allowing Chinese companies, like TikTok, to operate without constraint on American soil.”

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has cut jobs across business and operations units, reported Reuters. 

The third and final round of layoffs are part of Meta’s plans announced in March to let go 10,000 employees. 

The move impacted staff members from departments such as marketing, site security, enterprise engineering, programme management, content strategy, and corporate communications. 

Citing LinkedIn posts of laid-off Meta employees, the report said that workers from units that focused on privacy and integrity were also released. 

Meta’s retrenchment drive in March was announced following its decision to let go more than 11,000 employees in November 2022. 

The reductions primarily affected non-engineering positions, highlighting the importance of engineering roles within Meta. 

According to the social media giant, approximately 490 employees at its international headquarters in Dublin, which accounts for nearly 20% of its Irish workforce, would likely be affected by the recent layoffs. 

Earlier this week, the European Union imposed a $1.3bn fine on Meta over violations of data privacy laws.