IBM and Meta have announced the launch of the new AI Alliance, in collaboration with over 50 founding members and collaborators worldwide. This includes leading organizations from various sectors such as technology, healthcare, research, academia, and government. The goal of the AI Alliance is to support open innovation and open science in AI, promoting responsible innovation while ensuring trust, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness.
Alliance Objectives
The AI Alliance aims to create an open community that enables developers and researchers to accelerate innovation in AI. By bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds, the alliance will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and resources to address safety concerns and develop solutions that meet the needs of the global AI community.
Addressing Global Challenges
The timing of the AI Alliance announcement is coincidental and not influenced by recent events at OpenAI or the ongoing negotiations of the EU AI Act. Sriram Raghavan, vice president of IBM Research, emphasized that the alliance’s formation was driven by a broader vision for AI, aiming to go beyond discussions about models’ risks and potential misuse.
“This was shaped by a belief that a focus on open innovation was needed and was missing.”
The AI Alliance recognizes the importance of developing safe and responsible AI in an open and collaborative manner. Raghavan highlighted the need to define benchmarks and qualifications for models to behave safely, rather than resorting to excessive proprietary development and over-regulation.
“We believe it’s better when AI is developed openly – more people can access the benefits, build innovative products, and work on safety.”
The AI Alliance’s approach is project-based and flexible, emphasizing six general areas of focus:
- Open innovation
- Scientific rigor
- Trust
- Safety
- Security
- Economic competitiveness
By addressing these key aspects, the AI Alliance aims to advance the state-of-the-art in AI and promote responsible development practices.
