By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 25th, 2024
IBM disclosed that the Alliance will support projects addressing benchmarks, evaluation standards, and the deployment of resources essential for the ethical use of AI systems on a global scale.
International Business Machines (IBM), one of the leading technology companies in the world, and Facebook’s parent firm Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) have announced the launch of the AI Alliance to promote the development of open-source, responsible, and safe artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The AI Alliance seeks to democratize the closed system for large language models (LLMs) defended by tech giants like Google and Microsoft and startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic. By doing so, the Alliance aims to foster more inclusivity and information sharing within the AI community to drive faster innovation.
Global Initiative for Responsible AI Development
According to an official announcement on November 5, IBM said that the open source ecosystem will facilitate the creation of vetted tools, identification of risks, and implementation of mitigation strategies.
The company said these measures are crucial for ensuring widespread adoption of safe AI models and application development before introducing a product to the market.
The AI Alliance comprises over 50 founding members and organizations from various industries, startups, academia, research, and governments. This diverse international community includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), Dell Technologies, Intel, Cleveland Clinic, University of Illinois, University of Notre Dame, the University of Tokyo, Yale University, Oracle, and Sony collaborated to support open innovation and open science in AI.
According to the announcement, the Alliance is positioned as an action-oriented and internationally focused initiative designed to create opportunities across various institutions.
By uniting representatives from various sectors, the Alliance seeks to influence the trajectory of AI development in ways that better accommodate the complex needs of societies globally. This collaborative effort is envisioned to stimulate responsible innovation in AI, ensuring adherence to scientific rigor, trust, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness.
“This is a pivotal moment in defining the future of AI. IBM is proud to partner with like-minded organizations through the AI Alliance to ensure this open ecosystem drives an innovative AI agenda underpinned by safety, accountability, and scientific rigor,” said IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.
Advancing Open Foundation Models for Societal Challenges
With a commitment to responsible development and global impact, IBM disclosed that the Alliance will support projects addressing benchmarks, evaluation standards, and the deployment of resources essential for the ethical use of AI systems on a global scale.
The open system initiative will also back businesses promoting responsible practices and is committed to responsibly advancing the ecosystem of open foundation models to solve societal challenges.
IBM believes that these models, spanning various modalities, including highly capable multilingual, multimodal, and scientific models, will play a crucial role in addressing complex issues in the AI ecosystem.
The Alliance will also support global AI skill-building and exploratory research, engaging in educational content and providing resources to inform the public, including policymakers, about the benefits and risks involved in AI.
Similarly, the Alliance will launch initiatives encouraging the open development of AI. It will also host events to explore AI use cases and showcase how its members leverage open technology in AI for responsible and positive outcomes.