Meta and IBM launches an open-source alliance to counter big AI players

Amid rapidly evolving AI developments and growing safety concerns, IBM and Meta have launched an industry-centric solution known as the AI Alliance.

The Alliance aims to cultivate an open community that empowers developers and researchers to expedite responsible and trustworthy AI innovation, while ensuring scientific rigor, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness. It plans to increase the number of open-source AI models, contrasting with the private models used by companies like OpenAI and Google.

Open sourcing is a critical aspect of the AI Alliance. Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, expressed the Alliance’s commitment to sharing tools and knowledge to help everyone progress, regardless of whether models are openly shared, and to responsibly innovating in AI technology.

The AI Alliance intends to launch or enhance projects with clearly defined objectives, such as designing benchmarks to promote responsible AI system development. The Alliance will also create a catalog of approved tools and encourage developers to use them.

Additional plans include an emphasis on safety and transparency, generating educational resources to enlighten the public and policymakers on AI aspects, and initiating programs and events to showcase safe AI development techniques.

The AI Alliance includes over 50 global organizations and academic institutions, including Intel, NASA, Cleveland Clinic, and Yale University. Interestingly, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is not a founding member.