Meta launches new AI in push for best open source model to beat China

Meta released a new artificial intelligence model Monday as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called on Washington to lower barriers for US open-source developers to help them beat Chinese rivals.The Meta chief warned that American AI companies face restrictions that give foreign competitors an advantage, arguing that US policy should aim to make American open-source models the best in the world.“It is also important that the US and its allies lead the open source AI ecosystem that will make up a large percent of global AI use,” Zuckerberg wrote Monday in a sweeping manifesto titled “The Future is for Everyone: The Path to a Positive AI Future.”“Foreign labs currently hold several advantages here since American labs have to comply with many additional restrictions on training data,” he added.Chinese open-weight models have meanwhile been gaining traction among US businesses because they offer increasingly competitive performance at a fraction of the cost of some American rivals — even as policymakers in Washington weigh new restrictions over national-security concerns.Models from Chinese firms including DeepSeek, Alibaba and Z.ai have emerged as formidable low-cost alternatives, with some US tech companies embracing Chinese models for their flexibility and cheaper computing costs.But Washington has moved to curb their use in government.DeepSeek is barred from US intelligence-community systems, while lawmakers have floated broader restrictions on Chinese AI models and officials are considering additional curbs on Chinese open-weight technology....