AI News Monitor

Meta is preparing to announce a $15 billion investment aimed at achieving computerized “superintelligence,” according to multiple reports, signaling an aggressive push to reclaim dominance in artificial intelligence after its costly Metaverse gamble faltered.

The Silicon Valley giant, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is expected to acquire a 49% stake in Scale AI, a startup founded by Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo. The move, described by one industry analyst as the action of a “wartime CEO,” underscores the intensifying race to develop AI systems that surpass human capabilities in all tasks—a concept known as superintelligence.

Currently, even the most advanced AI models fall short of artificial general intelligence (AGI), the ability to perform any intellectual task as well as a human. Recent studies have exposed glaring weaknesses in mainstream systems, which often fail when confronted with highly complex problems.

Meta’s pivot comes as competitors like OpenAI and Google make significant strides in AI, leaving the social media giant scrambling to catch up. The company’s massive bet on the Metaverse, which failed to gain traction, has only heightened pressure to find a new technological edge.

Scale AI, which recently secured a contract to develop AI systems for the U.S. Defense Department, has drawn early investment from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. Wang, 28, is reportedly set to take a senior role at Meta following the deal.

The announcement has reignited calls for European governments to establish a transparent, collaborative AI research initiative akin to CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

“There’s a good argument that there should be a CERN for AI,” said Michael Wooldridge, an AI professor at the University of Oxford. “Governments should collaborate to develop AI openly and robustly so we understand and trust the technology. That won’t happen if it’s developed behind closed doors.”

Critics, however, remain skeptical of Meta’s ambitions. Wooldridge noted that AGI remains distant, let alone superintelligence. “We have AI that can do impressive things, but then it fails on a simple task any GCSE student could solve,” he said.

Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey suggested the deal reflects a broader industry trend of AI firms aggressively acquiring talent—whether through acquisitions or poaching researchers from academia.

As the AI arms race accelerates, the question remains whether Meta’s latest gamble will pay off—or if it, too, will face the same fate as the Metaverse.