The Linux Foundation has announced a new permissive license designed to help foster collaboration around open data for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) projects. It has often been said that data is the new oil, but for AI and ML projects in particular, having access to expansive and diverse data sets is key to reducing bias and building powerful models capable of all manner of intelligent tasks. To machines, data is a little like "experience" is to humans -- the more of it you have, the better decisions you are likely to make. With CDLA-Permissive-2.0, the Linux Foundation is building on its previous efforts to encourage data-sharing efforts through licensing arrangements that clearly define how the data -- and any derivative data sets -- can and can't be used. The Linux Foundation first introduced the Community Data License Agreement (CDLA) back in 2017 to entice organizations to open up their vast pools of (underused) data to third-parties.

Adversarial machine learning, a technique that attempts to fool models with deceptive data, is a growing threat in the AI and machine learning research community. The most common reason is to cause a malfunction in a machine learning model. An adversarial attack might entail presenting a model with inaccurate or misrepresentative data as it's training, or introducing maliciously designed data to deceive an already trained model. As the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence's 2019 interim report notes, a very small percentage of current AI research goes toward defending AI systems against adversarial efforts. Some systems already used in production could be vulnerable to attack.

Sentieo, a financial and corporate research platform provider, today announced it has raised $20 million in a series B round led by Ten Coves Capital. Sentieo says it will use the funds to expand its market reach as it grows its workforce. Investors and corporations were already looking for opportunities to gain a competitive edge when the pandemic hit. By 2025, more than 75% of venture capital and early-stage investor executive reviews will be informed by AI and data analytics, according to a Gartner whitepaper. But as remote work became the norm last year, standalone investment research solutions hindered analysts' ability to work collaboratively.