Meta Llama 3: All you need to know about the AI on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook
Llama 3 is the latest iteration of Meta's open-source Large Language Model. Here's all you need to know about this AI model, which ranks as the most sophisticated free AI helper.
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Innocent BenjaminWriter | Editor | SEO expert
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Joy EmehWriter| Editor| Content Strategist
Meta, like many other firms, is working on artificial intelligence, and although their AI model, known as Llama, is not as well-known as OpenAI's GPT-4 or Google's Gemini, likely because of its lack of availability in Europe, it is already in its third generation.
On April 18, 2024, Meta released Llama 3, a new edition with two versions and support for up to 70 billion parameters. Meta regarded it as a significant improvement over Llama 2.
Meta Llama 3 may not be the most powerful or flexible AI model available right now. Nonetheless, it has two main advantages: it is open source and freely available. This article outlines everything you need to know.
Evolution of Meta's Llama AI model
The story of the massive Llama language model started in February 2023, when Meta introduced Llama 1. Meta then offered four variations of this generation, with parameters ranging from 7 to 64 billion.
While maintaining competitive performance, it aimed to be more compact and user-friendly than versions like GPT-3.5, which powers ChatGPT. At the time, Llama 1 was only accessible to researchers.
The general public only gained access to the language paradigm with the July 2023 release of Llama 2, which is also open source and free.
Furthermore, the AI model was trained using 2 trillion tokens, which is 40% more data than Llama 1.
This will naturally reflect in the quality of the replies, as well as the doubling of the context length.
With the release of Llama 3 in April 2024, Meta's language model got even more intelligent and effective. According to the company, its newest advancements have made Meta AI, its conversational chatbot, the most intelligent assistant available for free. The tech behemoth also claimed that it has become quicker and more enjoyable than before.
The AI model was trained on more than 15 trillion tokens, which is seven times the amount of data used to train Llama 2. Some of the data is derived from public sources such as Common Crawl (an archive of billions of web pages), Wikipedia, and Project Gutenberg's public domain books.
Although Meta AI is now only accessible in English, more than 5% of its data is non-English, spanning more than 30 languages and developing AI for future multilingual applications.
Finally, Meta Llama 3 is becoming accessible in more countries and across a broader range of Meta products, and it, like its predecessors, remains open source.
What are your options with Meta Llama 3?
Meta Llama 3 is available in two versions: Llama 3 8b, with 8 billion parameters, and Llama 3 70b, with 70 billion. Both versions are available in the modified Instruct form, designed to better follow human directions. As a result, these models are better suited for chatbot applications.
Note that, unlike the most recent OpenAI and Google models, Meta Llama 3 lacks multimodal features.
However, a version capable of reasoning from different sorts of data (pictures, video sequences, audio snippets, etc.) is in development and will be available in 2024, as will another version with 400 billion parameters. In the interim, here are some things you can do using Llama 3's Meta AI:
1. Make MetaAI work as an assistant for you
Meta AI, like an assistant, can give you a wide range of valuable information for everyday life, such as a decent restaurant for a night out with friends, the greatest weekend vacation places, solutions to a maths problem, and much more.
Llama 3's expanded number of parameters allows for more intricate and nuanced responses. Another benefit is the ability to access it from a computer through the new website Meta.ai.
2. Perform searches in countries where it is available
Meta AI enables you to do searches directly inside Meta's apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Artificial intelligence provides real-time information throughout the whole web without the need for additional applications.
It is worth noting that Meta AI will be available in the stream (for example, your Facebook News stream) to provide you with more information on everything you see that interests you.
3. Create pictures with the Imagine feature
Thanks to Llama 3, MetaAI can now generate graphics based on textual descriptions. Meta AI's image generator is unique in that it allows you to see an image materialise as soon as you start typing.
The picture modifies every few characters entered, providing a preview of each change. Another fascinating feature is that you can ask Meta AI to animate an old picture, give it a new style, or even convert it to GIF.
This functionality, named Imagine, is now accessible in beta on WhatsApp and the Meta AI website in the United States.
How to get access to Meta Llama 3?
As previously stated, Meta Llama 3 is currently accessible for free via Meta AI. The chatbot is incorporated into many Meta products, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, as well as the new dedicated online service Meta.ai.
However, Meta AI is only accessible in the following countries:
- USA,
- South Africa,
- Australia,
- Canada,
- Ghana,
- Jamaica,
- Malawi,
- New Zealand,
- Nigeria,
- Pakistan,
- Singapore,
- Uganda,
- Zambia, and
- Zimbabwe.
Without a VPN (virtual private network), you cannot access it from non-listed countries. You may also use the HuggingChat multi-AI app, which gives you access to the top language models, including Meta's.