Leading Tech Companies Join US Responsible AI Programme
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) is teaming up with some of the leading technology companies in AI to launch a research pilot programme to ensure the safe development of the technology.
A wide range of businesses and non-profit organisations have joined the programme, including Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Intel, Meta, Anthropic, Hugging Face, Nvidia and OpenAI. According to the NSF the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot programme aims to strengthen and democratise access to critical resources necessary to power responsible AI discovery and innovation
This news comes after the US government imposed a number of regulations on technology companies, requiring AI developers to share safety results with the government, placing the country at the forefront of the global AI governance debate.
US aiming to lead in AI innovation race
The NSF says that the new programme is designed to create a national resource for researchers and educators to access high-powered AI technologies. The end goal is to ensure that the US stays ahead in the global AI race, in addition to sparking a wider conversation about AI ethics.
Technology giants have already voluntarily partnered to champion responsible AI systems and ensure safe development - with a number of the leading companies in the development of AI announcing the Frontier Model Forum last year with the goal to advance AI safety research to promote responsible development of frontier models, minimise risks and enable independent, standardised evaluations of capabilities and safety.
“Today's announcement makes progress on President Biden's goal to advance responsible AI so that everyone in America can benefit from this powerful technology. The National AI Research Resource pilot will give researchers access to critical data and compute, catalysing action to achieve America's great aspirations," says Arati Prabhakar, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology.
Democratising AI: Tech companies supporting the safe development of AI
Partnering with 10 other federal agencies as well as 25 private sector, nonprofit and philanthropic organisations, the NAIRR pilot will provide access to advanced computing, datasets, models, software, training and user support to U.S.-based researchers and educators.
“AWS is honoured to support the launch of the National AI Research Resource pilot program,” said Kim Majerus, Vice President of Global Education and U.S. State and Local Government, Amazon Web Services. “As one of the world's leading developers and deployers of AI tools and services, we support the safe, secure and responsible development of AI technology. We are committed to supporting the U.S. National Science Foundation, as well as collaborating agencies, educators, and research communities, as they mobilise support for AI research.”
“Realising AI's promise will require a wide range of talents to research, build and deploy AI in ways that solve society's biggest challenges,” added Kent Walker, President, Global Affairs, Google & Alphabet. “The NAIRR pilot is a critical step in broadening the AI research community, fostering public-private collaboration and accelerating AI innovation. We're excited to partner with NAIRR and contribute Google's cutting-edge tools, compute and datasets to this important initiative.”
“We're excited to support the National AI Research Resource pilot, a pivotal step in broadening AI research access,” said Eric Horvitz, Chief Scientific Officer of Microsoft. “This initiative aligns with our commitment to democratise AI research and spur innovation. We’re enthusiastic about contributing to the pilot and look forward to sharing learnings that inform the full-scale NAIRR, as envisioned for the post-pilot era.”
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