"LeCun gets up to hug me in greeting, wearing his signature black Ray-Ban Wayfarer glasses. He looks well rested for a man who has spent nearly a week running around town plotting world domination. Or, more precisely, "total world assistance" or "intelligent amplification, if you want." Domination "sounds scary with AI," he acknowledges. The last time I met him was at a summer conference in Paris, where he was unveiling the latest iteration of his vision for superintelligent machines as Meta's chief AI scientist."
"LeCun's schedule has been relentless since the Financial Times broke the news that he was leaving Meta. "It basically pushed us to accelerate the calendar," he says. Macron sent him a WhatsApp message after the story came out. LeCun declines to tell me exactly what the president said, but does hint that he was pleased the new "worldwide" company will have a strong connection to France."
"I arrive 10 minutes ahead of schedule from an early morning Eurostar and see Yann LeCun is already waiting for me, nestled between two plastic Christmas trees in the nearly empty winter garden of Michelin-starred restaurant Pavyllon. The restaurant is next to Paris's Grand Palais, where President Emmanuel Macron kick-started 2025 by hosting an international AI summit, a glitzy showcase packed with French exceptionalism and international tech luminaries including LeCun, who is considered one of the "godfathers" of modern AI."
Yann LeCun is leaving Meta and raising funds for a new start-up intended to realize his vision of superintelligent machines aimed at "total world assistance" or "intelligent amplification." He will take the role of executive chair to retain research freedom rather than becoming CEO. News of his departure accelerated public activity and drew attention from President Emmanuel Macron, who signaled support and a hoped-for French connection. LeCun remains a prominent AI pioneer often described as a "godfather" of modern AI and emphasizes his identity as a scientist rather than a business chief.
Read at Ars Technica
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