Meta pushes open AI with Glimmer, but questions linger
Meta this week released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model users can download and run themselves, while Mark Zuckerberg argued AI should be for everyone. TechCrunch's Equity podcast, however, flags some caveats.
Meta has released Glimmer, a new open-weight artificial intelligence model that anyone can download and run on their own hardware. The move stands in contrast to Muse Spark, the company's more powerful model, which remains locked behind Meta's own application programming interfaces.
Alongside the release, Mark Zuckerberg published a letter arguing that AI should be "for everyone" rather than controlled by a small group of labs. But the hosts of TechCrunch's Equity podcast point out that the vision comes with some asterisks.
In this episode, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan discuss Glimmer, Zuckerberg's 6,500-word manifesto, and other headlines of the week, including the real cost of the AI industry's energy needs and a $250 million acquisition that went very wrong.
The episode is part of TechCrunch's flagship Equity podcast, which is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and other platforms. Equity can also be followed on X and Threads at @EquityPod.
The conversation highlights the growing tension between open and closed approaches to AI development. While Meta's release of Glimmer signals a push toward broader access, the company still keeps its most powerful model proprietary. The hosts' mention of asterisks suggests that despite the open rhetoric, the company's strategy may not be as universally accessible as the message suggests.
The Equity podcast is produced by Theresa Loconsolo, an audio producer at TechCrunch who joined the company in 2022.
