Facebook parent Meta and International Business Machines (IBM) have jointly launched AI Alliance, comprising over 50 artificial intelligence (AI) companies and research institutions. This coalition advocates for an open model of AI, aiming to garner influence in the rapidly expanding AI market. The progress in AI is making fresh possibilities to enhance work, lifestyles, education and interpersonal interactions. The tech giants noted that "open and transparent innovation" is crucial to equip a diverse range of AI researchers, developers and users with the necessary information and tools to leverage these advancements, emphasizing safety, diversity, economic opportunities, and benefits for all.
"That is why today, we’re launching the AI Alliance – a group of leading organizations across industry, startup, academia, research and government coming together to support open innovation and open science in AI. The AI Alliance is action oriented and decidedly international, designed to create opportunities everywhere through a diverse range of institutions that can shape the evolution of AI in ways that better reflect the needs and the complexity of our societies," the companies jointly said in a statement.
The AI Alliance is aimed at fostering an open community and enabling developers and researchers to accelerate responsible innovation in AI while ensuring scientific rigor, trust, safety, security, diversity and economic competitiveness.
The AI Alliance comprises members such as Intel, Oracle, Cornell University, and the National Science Foundation, is uniting resources to advocate for "open innovation and open science" in AI. The alliance predominantly endorses the open-source approach, where technology is freely shared, building on a history of collaboration among major tech companies, academics, and a dedicated community of independent programmers.
In a bid to ensure open innovation in AI benefits everyone and that it is built responsibly, the AI Alliance consists of a broad range of organisations that are working across aspects of AI education, research, development and deployment, and governance.
"By bringing together leading developers, scientists, academic institutions, companies, and other innovators, we will pool resources and knowledge to address safety concerns while providing a platform for sharing and developing solutions that fit the needs of researchers, developers, and adopters around the world," the firms added.
Apart from bringing together leading developers, scientists, academics, students, and business leaders in the field of artificial intelligence, the AI Alliance intends to partner with important existing initiatives from governments, non-profit and civil society organizations who are doing valuable and aligned work in the AI space.