Meta’s VP of AI research, Joelle Pineau, announced in a Facebook post Tuesday that she’ll be leaving the company at the end of May, after nearly eight years.
Pineau has been leading the Facebook AI Research (FAIR) group since 2023. The group is focused on achieving “advanced machine intelligence (AMI) to accelerate the potential of future Meta products for the benefit of people.” Some FAIR projects have included developing AI models with more natural conversation abilities, creating humanoid virtual agents, and audio generation.
“Today, as the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” Pineau wrote in the post. “I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people.”
News of the head of AI research leaving the company comes at an interesting time, when Meta has been emphasizing it’s focus on AI, investing billions of dollars to become a leader in the space.
A Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg News that the company doesn’t have a replacement for Pineau yet, but is searching for her successor. Pineau shared in her Facebook post that she “will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure.”