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Meta, IBM and dozens of startups and researchers have launched an alliance championing a more open and collaborative way to develop artificial intelligence, creating a conflict with OpenAI and Google over the future of the technology.
The philosophical debate has become the central battleground for the future of AI, with growing concern that OpenAI and Google, backed by Microsoft, will be alone in supporting a technology that could become increasingly crucial to our lives daily.
“This is a pivotal moment in defining the future of AI,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said Tuesday in the release announcing the AI Alliance.
ChatGPT creator OpenAI and Google champion a closed system for large language models that have wowed the world by producing human-quality images and text from simple prompts.
They see themselves as the AI adults in the room, with full control over the technology to ensure it is deployed ethically and responsibly and stays out of the hands of bad actors.
On the other side of the debate, open source proponents argue that sharing AI technology can spur innovation and ensure that no single company or player gets a dangerous lead.
Their position was strengthened earlier this month when a civil war within OpenAI’s board saw Microsoft’s role strengthened and fears increased over a company taking such an outsized role in the provision of AI.
“Pursuing open innovation levels the playing field, allowing everyone to share in the benefits of generative AI,” said Jennifer Chayes, dean of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at UC Berkeley.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is one of the biggest proponents of the open source model and opposes the future of AI being confined to the secret labs of a few tech giants.
Unlike OpenAI’s GPT-4, the model behind ChatGPT, Meta has made its LLaMA models readily available for researchers and startups to tinker with and perfect.
“We believe it is best if AI is developed openly: more people can access its benefits, create innovative products and work on security,” said Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta.
IBM and Meta are joined by approximately 50 companies and organizations, including Intel and NASA.
OpenAI and Google are not founding members.
© 2023 AFP
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