In July, EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) announced their joint initiative to build a large language model (LLM) . Now, this model is available and serves as a building block for developers and organisations for future applications such as chatbots, translation systems, or educational tools. The model is named Apertus - Latin for "open" - highlighting its distinctive feature: the entire development process, including its architecture, model weights, and training data and recipes, is openly accessible and fully documented. AI researchers, professionals, and experienced enthusiasts can either access the model through the strategic partner Swisscom or download it from Hugging Face - a platform for AI models and applications - and deploy it for their own projects. Apertus is freely available in two sizes - featuring 8 billion and 70 billion parameters, the smaller model being more appropriate for individual usage.

AI Daily Roundup starts today! We are covering the top updates from around the world. The updates will feature state-of-the-art capabilities in artificial intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, Fintech and human-system interactions. We will cover the role of AI Daily Roundup and their application in various industries and daily lives. Nokia has announced that Swisscom will deploy Nokia FastMile 5G Receivers primarily in rural areas in Switzerland to offer ultra-fast broadband services.

We are just 18 days away from The Next AI Platform event on March 10, 2020 at The Glasshouse in San Jose. Remember, this sold out last year. If you haven't already registered make sure to do so as soon as possible to avoid getting closed out of the unique PowerPoint-free, live-interview and hosted panel day focused on what's next for large-scale AI infrastructure (this year's emphasis is on inference in particular). Below is the tentative agenda. As with all events, it is subject to last minute changes but this is the confirmed lineup as of this morning.

Much of what sets The Next Platform apart from other tech publications is depth and analysis. As it turns out, the key to getting both of those facets is knowing what questions to ask and pushing for answers that go beyond the basic and cut through marketing and hype. This time we are conducting interviews in a new format--and we want you involved in the process. Please join us on March 10, 2020 at The Glasshouse in downtown San Jose, CA for an all-day event featuring the same in-depth conversations you expect from TNP (and from our sold-out Next AI Platform event last year), live on-stage followed by a cocktail reception and evening dinner opportunities for networking with key people defining the next generation of AI infrastructure. Meet the Next Platform team with plenty of time to talk about what matters to you, get first access to exclusive interviews, and spend the day with us in an intimate setting at San Jose's premier event venue, The Glasshouse. Just some of the best interviewers in the high-end infrastructure space and a lineup of thought leaders building the next generation of large-scale infrastructure to support emerging AI workloads.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in banking is a fast-developing reality as banks around the world are looking to leverage the technology to reduce costs and create better client experiences. "Based on our UBS Evidence Lab survey of 86 banks, an optimal scenario of limited disruption suggests AI technology could potentially lead to a 3.4% revenue uplift and cost savings of 3.9% over the next three years," UBS strategist Philip Finch wrote a recent note titled Is AI the next revolution in retail banking? Goldman Sachs estimates a £26 billion (US$36.2 billion) to £33 billion (US$46 billion) in annual "cost savings and new revenue opportunities" within the financial sector by 2025, enabled by AI and machine learning. One of the most basic objectives for AI at banks is a reduction in time "wasted" on any task that can be automated. These include rules-based tasks, such as entry, validation, and manipulation of data, as well as creation, uploading, and exporting of data files.