Meta launches Llama 3.1: a big step forward with open source AI
Meta took a big step forward early this week. With the launch of Llama 3. 1, the company introduced an AI model that is as powerful as the most advanced systems such as ChatGPT-4o and Claude Sonnet 3.5, but freely accessible to all.
What is Llama 3.1?
Llama 3.1 is a large language model (LLM) developed by Meta. The main features of this model:
- Size: the model has three sizes: 405B, 70B and 8B, where B refers to the number of parameters. The 405B, for example, is 405 billion parameters and one of the largest models available. It can handle up to 128,000 tokens.
- Architecture: it is based on transformer architecture, similar to GPT models such as ChatGPT.
- Open source: unlike most other models, anyone can use Llama 3.1 for free and modify it to their liking. Also, you can install it on your own computer and also use it offline (e.g. via LM Studio). For this, the 8B version is best suited.
- Multimodal: Although it can currently process only text and files as input and output, other forms such as images, video and audio will be added in the future.
What makes it different?
The big difference from the other models is that Llama 3.1 is open source. The advantages of this are:
- Adaptability: researchers and developers can fine-tune the model for specific tasks.
- Transparency: the operation of the model can be thoroughly studied, which is important for ethical AI development, among other things.
- Accessibility: everyone will have access to advanced AI technology.
- Innovation: the wide availability and ability to build on it can lead to many new applications.
However, open source AI models also have challenges, such as misuse and the need for careful regulation. After all, anyone can develop products using this language model, including people with not so good intentions.
Llama 3.1 is not yet available via Meta AI in Europe, but you can test it via, for example, Groq, select it as a language model within Perplexity, or run it locally via LM Studio.
Below you can see how Llama 3.1 performs against other models such as ChatGPT4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Can it really compete with ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini?
It is to be expected that Meta will become a dominant player in the AI landscape. One of the big advantages they have is that they make money like water from their social media platforms and do not necessarily need to make money from AI. They can integrate the AI into their existing platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, as well as in collaboration with partners such as the Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Also, open source is attractive for engaging many developers. In addition, their Chief AI Scientist is Yann LeCun, one of the leading AI researchers. You will also come across his name in this comprehensive overview of leading individuals and companies in the AI landscape.
Mark Zuckerberg is willing to invest billions of dollars to democratize the market for advanced AI models. With this strategy, he is also trying to undermine the core sales of competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic and thwart the emerging market potential for Google, Microsoft and Amazon by giving away for free what they sell.
The race to the next breakthrough
As Meta Llama 3.1 launches, other major breakthroughs are expected soon. OpenAI's GPT-4 is already 17 months old. In that time, other companies have invested billions to create similar models, but no one has definitively surpassed GPT-4. Will this Gemini 2, Claude 4, Llama 4 or perhaps Elon Musk's new Grok model (about which he himself announced in December that it is the most powerful AI model in the world) succeed?
Or will OpenAI make such a leap forward with the successor to ChatGPT-4 that they will once again set the standard for the time to come? And what level of their classification system will they be at?
Time will tell, but we probably won't have to wait long for the answer. Almost immediately after the announcement of Llama 3.1, OpenAI already responded by announcing that their latest model GPT-4o mini is now also available for fine-tuning and that the first 2M tokens are free until Sept. 23.
In addition, OpenAI has made several announcements in recent months that have not yet been made available such as Sora, Voice Mode and other applications of ChatGPT-4o. All of these could be launched soon.
Regardless of which model leads the way (for a while), our advice remains to experiment with different AI tools and use the ones that best suit your specific tasks and needs.
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