Computer scientist Yann LeCun: “Intelligence really is about learning”

Arriving ten minutes early from an early morning Eurostar, I find Yann LeCun already present, seated between two plastic Christmas trees in the nearly deserted winter garden of the Michelin-starred restaurant Pavyllon. This establishment is adjacent to Paris's Grand Palais, where President Emmanuel Macron recently launched an international AI summit, a dazzling event celebrating French innovation and attended by leading tech figures, including LeCun, renowned as a 'godfather' of contemporary AI. As LeCun rises to greet me, his signature black Ray-Ban Wayfarer glasses in place, he appears well-rested despite a busy week of strategizing for what he refers to as 'total world assistance,' or 'intelligent amplification.' He acknowledges that the term 'domination' can evoke fear when discussing AI. Our last encounter was during a summer conference in Paris, where he was presenting his latest insights on superintelligent machines in his role as Meta's chief AI scientist. Now, he stands on the brink of departure from Meta, actively fundraising for a new startup aimed at realizing his ambitious vision. LeCun's schedule has intensified since the Financial Times reported his exit from Meta. 'It basically pushed us to accelerate the calendar,' he remarks. Following the news, Macron reached out to him via WhatsApp. While LeCun remains tight-lipped about the conversation, he implies the president was pleased that his forthcoming 'worldwide' venture will maintain strong ties to France. Although LeCun won’t take on the role of CEO in this new enterprise, he will serve as executive chair, granting him research autonomy similar to what he enjoyed at Meta. Recent reports indicate that his new company will be named Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs, with Alex LeBrun, co-founder and CEO of the French healthcare AI startup Nabla, at the helm.