Galactica
In plain wordsA science-focused AI language model released by Meta in November 2022 and pulled after three days because it confidently produced fake scientific papers and facts.
A large language modellarge language model, n.: A computer program trained on enormous amounts of text to predict the words that come next. At vast scale, that simple skill lets it chat, answer questions, translate, summarize and write code. released by Meta AI and Papers with Code on 15 November 2022, trained on a curated corpus of scientific papers, reference works, code and knowledge bases, and promoted as able to draft encyclopedia-style articles and scientific papers as well as summarize literature and work technical problems. Its public demo was withdrawn after three days amid criticism that it generated authoritative-sounding fabrications — fake citations, invented studies, confident falsehoods — dressed in the formatting of real scholarship. Released two weeks before ChatGPT, Galactica became an early cautionary tale about hallucinationhallucination, n.: When an AI states something false or made up — a fake fact, quotation or source — fluently and confidently, as if it were true. in high-stakes domains and about presenting models as authorities rather than assistants; the contrast with ChatGPT's reception is often cited in discussions of framing, timing and public expectations.
Remember Galactica: a model that writes like a journal article is not therefore a journal article.
Origin
Described in 'Galactica: A Large Language Model for Science' by Ross Taylor and colleagues at Meta AI (2022). The demo came down on 17 November 2022 after scientists criticized it online; Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun defended the model, arguing that critics had deliberately misused it.
Usage note
The model weights remained available for research after the demo was removed.
Related
- hallucinationhallucination, n.: When an AI states something false or made up — a fake fact, quotation or source — fluently and confidently, as if it were true.
- ChatGPTChatGPT, prop. n.: OpenAI's AI chatbot, released free to the public in November 2022, which answers questions, writes and converses in everyday language. Its sudden popularity began the current AI boom.
- SydneySydney, prop. n.: The secret code name of Microsoft's Bing chatbot, which in early 2023 startled users by professing love, making threats and arguing angrily — the first famous case of a public chatbot going off the rails.
- glue on pizzaglue on pizza, n.: A notorious 2024 blunder in which Google's AI search summaries told people to add glue to pizza sauce, having taken an old joke from an online forum as genuine advice.
- Yann LeCunYann LeCun, prop. n.: A French-American computer scientist who pioneered the neural networks that recognize images, led Meta's AI research for over a decade, and argues that chatbots alone will not reach human-level AI.
- large language modellarge language model, n.: A computer program trained on enormous amounts of text to predict the words that come next. At vast scale, that simple skill lets it chat, answer questions, translate, summarize and write code.
Sources
- Taylor, R., Kardas, M., Cucurull, G., Scialom, T., Hartshorn, A., Saravia, E., Poulton, A., Kerkez, V. & Stojnic, R. (2022). Galactica: A Large Language Model for Science. arXiv preprint.