• December 9, 2013

Facebook has turned to NYU professor Yann LeCun to lead its new artificial intelligence laboratory. LeCun, one of the world’s leading figures on deep learning and machine learning, has done pioneering work in artificial intelligence since the 1980s. His knowledge and research could eventually help Facebook better figure out what to show users in their news feeds and customize their experience.

Facebook’s AI group will be divided among the company’s Menlo Park, Calif. headquarters, London office, and its new facility in New York City just block away from the NYU campus. Facebook and NYU’s Center for Data Science have entered a partnership to carry out research in data science, machine learning, and AI, according to a post by LeCun today.

The move follows steps by other Internet giants like Google and Yahoo to harness deep learning to enhance their services. Futurist and AI expert Ray Kurzweil, for instance, joined Google earlier this year after Larry Page convinced him to explore concepts in his book “How To Create A Mind.”