Facebook parent Meta and IBM on Tuesday launched a new group called the AI Alliance advocating for an "open-science" approach to AI development that puts them at odds with rivals Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. These two diverging camps – the open and the closed – disagree about whether to build AI in a way that makes the underlying technology widely accessible. Safety is at the heart of the debate, but so is who gets to profit from AI's advances. Open advocates favor an approach that is "not proprietary and closed", said Darío Gil, a senior vice-president at IBM who directs its research division. "So it's not like a thing that is locked in a barrel and no one knows what they are."

AI development and concerns about its safety continue to grow at a rapid pace with little regulation in place. The latest industry-based solution to this comes courtesy of IBM and Meta, which have announced the creation of the AI Alliance. Its mission centers on "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." Part of this work will involve efforts to expand the number of open-source AI models -- ones with public source code -- which runs counter to the private models of companies like OpenAI and Google. Open-sourcing is a key pillar of the AI Alliance.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already had a profound impact on business and society. Applied AI and machine learning (ML) are creating safer workplaces, more accurate health diagnoses and better access to information for global citizens. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will represent a new era of partnership between humans and AI, with potentially positive global impact. AI advancements can help society solve problems of income inequality and food insecurity to create a more "inclusive, human-centred future" according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). There is nearly limitless potential to AI innovation, which is both positive and frightening.

In an effort to create a standard set of tools that would help data science teams collaborate on AI development, an infrastructure initiative launched this week will promote a unified stack for developing and scaling machine learning models. The AI Infrastructure Alliance said this week it will initially focus on creating Canonical Stack for AI envisioned as a development platform for machine learning models destined for enterprise applications. As with previous hardware and software stacks, the machine learning initiative seeks to forge an AI development infrastructure that would free developers to address more complex problems. As machine learning models move to the edge, the alliance said it would create a single platform that integrates existing AI technologies into a common framework that would accelerate and improve MLOps and edge applications. Establishing a so-called canonical AI stack for machine learning and MLOps would include developing best practices and architectures used to scale machine learning models in edge and other applications.

Baidu will no longer participate in the Partnership on AI (PAI) alliance amid deteriorating relations between the US and China. PAI is a US-led alliance which aims to foster the ethical development and deployment of AI technologies. Baidu was the only Chinese member. The loss of Baidu's expertise and any representation from China is devastating for PAI. Ethical AI development requires global cooperation to set acceptable standards which help to ensure safety while not limiting innovation.

Chinese search giant Baidu has left The Partnership on AI (PAI), a US-led effort to foster collaboration on the ethical challenges raised by artificial intelligence. Baidu is said to have cited the cost of membership and recent financial pressures for the move. But as relations between the US and China worsen, the departure comes amid growing challenges for companies and people in the two countries to collaborate, or find common ground, when it comes to critical technologies like AI. In a statement, Baidu said it "shares the vision of the Partnership on AI and is committed to promoting the ethical development of AI technologies. We are in discussions about renewing our membership, and remain open to other opportunities to collaborate with industry peers on advancing AI." Terah Lyons, executive director of PAI, says the company cited a weaker financial outlook for the decision, adding: "Baidu remains committed to our mission and hopes to be able to resume membership in 2021."

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already had a profound impact on business and society. Applied AI and machine learning (ML) are creating safer workplaces, more accurate health diagnoses and better access to information for global citizens. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will represent a new era of partnership between humans and AI, with potentially positive global impact. AI advancements can help society solve problems of income inequality and food insecurity to create a more "inclusive, human-centred future" according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). There is nearly limitless potential to AI innovation, which is both positive and frightening.

Tieto announced today that it is one of the first Nordic companies to join the European AI Alliance, a newly-formed forum for artificial intelligence (AI) stakeholders to come together to push European competitiveness on AI research and development and its impacts on industry and society. The AI Alliance, established by the European Commission, brings together a diverse set of leading AI actors, including companies, consumer organizations, trade unions and other representatives of civil society bodies across Europe to share best practices. The AI Alliance aims to directly contribute to the European debate on AI and impact the Commission's AI policy-making. To achieve that, the AI Alliance works in close collaboration with the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLEG), a group the Commission has also established, with 52 members from academia, business and civil society such as Bayer, BMW, Bosch, Fraunhofer Institute, Google, IBM, Nokia, Siemens, Telenor and University of Oxford. The AI HLEG advises the Commission on AI's opportunities and challenges, and supports it in the implementation of the European strategy on AI.

Last week, the European Commission published an important paper on artificial intelligence and robotics. Its communication on "Artificial Intelligence for Europe", released on 25 April 2018, describes AI technologies as being as transformative as the steam engine or electricity. They will, it is said, help solve some of the world's biggest problems, from chronic disease, to climate change, to cybersecurity threats. The communication sets out three pillars of a proposed integrated approach to AI across Europe: keeping ahead of technological developments and encouraging uptake of AI by the public and private sectors; preparing for the socio-economic changes brought about by AI; and ensuring an appropriate ethical and legal framework. As a starter, the EU has announced additional funding for AI-related projects via its Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, with up to €500 million extra available each year between now and 2020. These funds can be bid for by both the private and public sector.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our economy and society. AI increasingly contributes to many sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, public administrations and transport and it also helps address grand challenges such as ageing and climate change. Moreover, AI offers major business opportunities for European industry, SMEs and start-ups and contributes to productivity growth. To make the most of what AI can offer, the Commission has already invested in research and innovation, created a Digital Single Market, and it is now committed to intensifying these efforts. It will present a comprehensive European strategy on AI in the coming months (in line with the conclusions of the European Council of 19 October).