Meta launched Llama 4: what it is and why it matters even if you're not a programmer

Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, just launched Llama 4, the new version of its artificial intelligence program. Why should you care if you're not a programmer? Because these kinds of decisions directly affect the tools you'll use in the coming months.

Llama 4 is what's known as an "open source" AI program. That means anyone or any company can download, use, and adapt it to their needs for free. It's like Toyota publishing the blueprints for a new car and saying "build your own for free."

Why does it matter? Because until now, the most advanced AI programs were from companies like OpenAI (ChatGPT) or Google (Gemini), which charge for access. With Llama 4, Meta is democratizing access: startups in Colombia, Mexico, or Argentina can build their own AI tools without depending on big companies or paying a fortune.

Llama 4 comes in several sizes. The largest, called Maverick, can understand text, images, and audio simultaneously. The most compact, Scout, can read extremely long documents — imagine giving it a full book and having it understand it from start to finish.

For Latin American businesses, this means more AI tools will appear in Spanish, cheaper and better adapted to our needs. Teams in the region are already working on virtual assistants, customer service tools, and data analysis based on Llama.