The alliance brings together developers, researchers, and adopters from various corners of the industry and the globe. With a commitment to openness and safety, the initiative has already garnered support from over 50 members and collaborators worldwide.
IBM and Meta have jointly unveiled the International AI Alliance in a collaborative stride towards advancing artificial intelligence in a responsible manner.
The alliance brings together developers, researchers, and adopters from various corners of the industry and the globe. With a commitment to openness and safety, the initiative has already garnered support from over 50 members and collaborators worldwide.
Greater collaboration
As per IBM’s official release, the establishment of the International AI Alliance is rooted in the recognition that despite the presence of numerous entities committed to open science and technologies in the AI realm, greater collaboration and information sharing are imperative.
Addressing safety concerns
The International AI Alliance’s objective is to ensure “scientific rigor, trust, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness”. By pooling resources, it aims to address safety concerns and provide a platform for sharing and developing solutions that meet the global needs of researchers, developers, and adopters.
The homepage of the website highlights that members and collaborators collectively represent $80 billion in research and development, providing support to 400,000 students through academic institutions, and involving 100,000 staff members.
The Alliance’s initial actions include the formation of member-driven working groups, the establishment of a governing board and technical oversight committee, and collaboration with ongoing initiatives from governments, nonprofit organizations, and civil society.
Alliance objectives
The Alliance sets forth clear objectives:
Insights from industry experts
Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman and chief executive officer remarked: “The progress we continue to witness in AI is a testament to open innovation and collaboration across communities of creators, scientists, academics and business leaders.”
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, highlighted that the AI Alliance unites researchers, developers, and companies to exchange tools and knowledge, fostering progress in AI development, whether models are shared openly or not. The aim is to collaborate with partners and collectively advance the state-of-the-art in AI, promoting responsible building practices.
Prominent US higher education institutions participating in the initiative encompass Cornell University, Dartmouth College, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, UC Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, The University of Notre Dame, The University of Texas at Austin, and Yale University.
UK interest in AI
A record-breaking number of British school leavers have shown a keen interest in pursuing computing courses at universities, according to recent figures released by university admissions service UCAS.
The data indicated a substantial 9.5-percent increase in applications to computing courses by 18-year-olds in the UK since the previous year, elevating it to the seventh most popular course for prospective students, as per a press release via Yahoo News.
As of the final application deadline on June 30, there were 94,870 applications from 18-year-olds for computing courses, marking a significant rise from 86,630 applications in the preceding year and 71,150 in 2021.
UCAS chief executive Clare Marchant attributed the upswing in computing applications to the growing fascination with artificial intelligence and advancements in digital technology.
The prominence of AI chatbots like ChatGPT has been a prominent factor in shaping students’ interest in this field.
Growth of AI in education
In its report titled “Artificial Intelligence Market In The Education Sector Market 2023-2027,” market research group Technavio also noted that the increase underscores the rising importance of integrating AI into the educational landscape to boost learning outcomes.
Over the next five years, the research found that the education sector is poised for a transformative leap, fueled by AI. It projected a net increase of $1,100.07 million by 2027 due to AI in the education market setting the stage for revolutionary changes.
These robust growth estimates suggest a compound annual growth rate of 41.14 percent within the forecast period, reflecting the rapidly accelerating pace of AI adoption in this sector.
