01 導讀2021年元宇宙失利後,祖克柏以“不計成本”的激進策略重啟Meta的AI戰略:先以143億美元收購資料標註公司Scale AI 49%股份(核心資產為28歲創始人亞歷山大·王),再豪擲超10億美元招攬矽谷AI頂尖人才納特·佛里曼和丹尼爾·格羅斯,組建“超級智能”團隊專攻AI產品落地,目標直指OpenAI的ChatGPT霸主地位。儘管Meta近期Llama模型和AI聊天機器人表現平平,但祖克柏通過1億美元簽約獎金挖角OpenAI員工、試圖聘請SSI聯合創始人蘇茨克維等動作,展現“瘋狂砸錢”的決心。分析師指出,這種高調投入雖風險極高,卻契合Meta1.7兆美元市值對AI成敗的依賴,且核心團隊私交與理念一致(如古羅馬文化愛好、AI投資背景)進一步強化了戰略協同。這場“技術之戰”本質是以巨額資金與頂尖人才押注生成式AI的未來主導權。02 地道表達03 |原文|翻譯|字詞|Zucked inMeta is spending megabucks on an AI hiring spreeMeta 斥巨資大舉招聘 AI 人才When Mark Zuckerberg decided to launch his quest for the metaverse in 2021, he threw fistfuls of cash at the effort. Meta’s boss is now repeating the act, this time with generative artificial intelligence (AI). Hot on the heels of what may be the world’s most expensive acquihire—a $14.3bn deal to buy 49% of Scale AI, a data-labelling firm whose main asset is Alexandr Wang, its 28-year-old founder—people close to the matter say Mr Zuckerberg is planning to offer more than $1bn combined for two of Silicon Valley’s hottest AI brain boxes, who would work under Mr Wang. It marks the start of a reset of Meta’s generative-AI ambitions.2021年,當馬克·祖克柏決定開啟元宇宙征程時,曾為此一擲千金。如今,這位Meta的掌門人故技重施,這次瞄準的則是生成式人工智慧。就在一樁可能是全球最昂貴的“人才收購”(斥資143億美元購入資料標註公司Scale AI 49%的股份,而這家公司的主要資產正是其年僅28歲的創始人亞歷山大·王)之後不久——據知情人士透露,祖克柏正計畫合計出資逾10億美元,招攬矽谷兩位炙手可熱的人工智慧頂尖奇才,他們未來將在亞歷山大·王麾下效力。這標誌著Meta在生成式人工智慧領域的雄心計畫已然重啟。Meta has made no comment, but if the deal goes through Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, entrepreneurs and partners in a venture-capital (VC) firm called NFDG, will work in Meta’s “superintelligence” unit under Mr Wang, one of America’s youngest self-made billionaires. The word “superintelligence” is somewhat misleading. Rather than ground-breaking AI research, the team is expected to focus on developing new AI products for Meta, some of whose recent efforts, including its latest Llama model and the Meta AI chatbot, have disappointed.Meta未予置評,但若交易達成,風險投資公司NFDG的合夥人兼企業家納特·佛里曼和丹尼爾·格羅斯將在王先生的“超級智能”部門任職。王先生是美國最年輕的白手起家的億萬富翁之一。“超級智能”一詞多少有些誤導。該團隊預計不會專注於突破性的AI研究,而是為Meta開發新的AI產品——Meta最近的一些嘗試,包括最新的Llama模型和Meta AI聊天機器人,表現並不盡如人意。Someone who knows all three men calls the trio “the avengers”. He reckons they will have huge additional sums at their disposal to hire top AI researchers in order to unseat OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, as the dominant generative-AI firm. “They’re going to go big,” he says.一位與三人相熟的人士將他們稱為“復仇者聯盟”。他估計,他們將擁有巨額追加資金,用於招募頂尖AI研究人員,以推翻生成式AI領域的霸主——ChatGPT的締造者OpenAI。“他們要大幹一場,”他說。Indeed, there appear to be few limits on what Meta is prepared to spend. On June 17th Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, said on a podcast that Meta was offering signing bonuses of $100m to poach his staff. Another person close to the situation says Mr Zuckerberg sought to hire Ilya Sutskever, the brains behind ChatGPT and co-founder of Safe Superintelligence (SSI), another hot AI startup, to work at Meta, though he was unsuccessful. “He is throwing insane amounts of money at people,” the person said.事實上,Meta在支出方面似乎毫無上限。6月17日,OpenAI首席執行官山姆·阿爾特曼在一檔播客節目中透露,Meta正以1億美元簽約獎金挖角其員工。另一位知情人士稱,祖克柏曾試圖聘請ChatGPT的核心開發者、熱門AI初創公司Safe Superintelligence(SSI)的聯合創始人伊利亞·蘇茨克維加盟Meta,但未能成功。“他在員工方面正在瘋狂砸錢,”該人士說。The gambit shows Mr Zuckerberg’s continued willingness to make mighty, long-term bets to reinvent his firm, even if his foray into the metaverse has been a costly flop. “This is very Zuckerbergian to do these big, loud stunts just to prove how committed he is,” says Eric Seufert, an independent tech analyst. And while the sums are big, they may not be as reckless as some pundits argued when reports surfaced that Meta was buying its stake in Scale AI, considering how much of Meta’s $1.7trn market value is riding on its success in AI. The acquisitions also involve people with close personal ties and shared ideals.這一策略展現了祖克柏為重塑公司而持續押注巨額長期投資的決心,儘管其元宇宙探索已成為代價高昂的敗筆。“這種高調的大動作非常‘祖克柏’——只為證明他對AI的投入有多堅定,”獨立科技分析師埃裡克·塞弗特評價道。儘管金額巨大,但考慮到Meta 1.7兆美元市值中有多大比例取決於AI成敗,這些投入或許並不像部分專家在Meta收購Scale AI股份時所說的那樣魯莽。此外,這些收購還涉及私交密切、理念一致的核心人物。Mr Friedman, former boss of GitHub, a software-development platform owned by Microsoft, is friends with Mr Zuckerberg. He is part of Meta’s Advisory Group, which provides guidance to the company. And, like Mr Zuckerberg, he is a lover of ancient Rome. He and Mr Gross helped launch a contest called the Vesuvius Challenge to decode scrolls buried in Herculaneum after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.佛里曼先生是微軟旗下軟體開發平台GitHub的前負責人,與祖克柏私交甚篤。他目前擔任Meta顧問小組成員,為公司提供戰略指導。與祖克柏一樣,他也是古羅馬文化的愛好者。他與格羅斯先生共同發起了“維蘇威挑戰賽”,致力於破譯公元79年維蘇威火山噴發後埋藏在赫庫蘭尼姆古城的莎草紙捲軸。Mr Friedman and Mr Gross are savvy AI investors. Some call their VC firm the AI equivalent of Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley juggernaut born out of the dotcom boom. Mr Friedman invested in Scale AI and is close to Mr Wang. Mr Gross is a co-founder of Mr Sutskever’s SSI, which was recently valued at $32bn less than a year after its birth. It is not clear what will happen to NFDG.佛里曼與格羅斯是眼光獨到的AI投資人,其風投公司被視作“AI界的安德森·霍洛維茨”——這家誕生於網際網路泡沫時期的矽谷巨頭以投資兇猛著稱。佛里曼曾投資Scale AI並與王關係密切,格羅斯則是蘇茨克維旗下SSI的聯合創始人,這家成立不足一年的公司最新估值已達320億美元。至於NFDG的未來走向,目前尚無定論。People who know the two say that joining Meta appeals not only for the generous terms, but also the excitement of working for an AI heavyweight and the money and computing power it will put at their disposal. “This is the tech battle of our time,” says one person close to the pair. Mr Zuckerberg intends to win.熟悉二人的消息人士稱,加入Meta的吸引力不僅在於優厚待遇,更在於能與AI巨頭並肩作戰的興奮感,以及可調配的巨額資金與算力資源。“這是我們這個時代的技術之戰,”接近他們的人士如此評價。祖克柏志在必得。 (Chris的外刊閱讀筆記)