AI is going open source

December 5, 2023 Siyabonga Mtangana

Meta Platforms and IBM are joining more than 40 companies and organisations to create an industry group dedicated to open-source artificial intelligence work, aiming to share technology and reduce risks.

The coalition, called the AI Alliance, will focus on the responsible development of AI technology, including safety and security tools, according to a statement on Tuesday. The group also will look to increase the number of open-source AI models — rather than the proprietary systems favoured by some companies — and develop new hardware and team up with academic researchers.

Proponents of open-source AI technology, which is made public by developers for others to use, see the approach as a more efficient way to cultivate the highly complex systems. Over the past few months, Meta has been releasing open-source versions of its large language models, which are the foundation of AI chatbots.

“We believe it’s better when AI is developed openly — more people can access the benefits, build innovative products and work on safety,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said in the statement.

The group will eventually establish a governing board and technical oversight committee. Participants include Oracle, AMD, Intel and Stability AI, as well as academic and research organisations such as the University of Notre Dame and the Mass Open Cloud Alliance.

The recent chaos at ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, which fired and rehired its well-known CEO, has intensified a global debate about how transparent companies should be in developing powerful AI technology. OpenAI wasn’t listed as an AI Alliance participant. — Alex Barinka, (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP