IBM & Meta establish AI Alliance for open innovation in AI

IBM and Meta have announced the establishment of the AI Alliance, a consortium of more than 50 global collaborators encompassing industry, academia, research and government sectors. Established to promote "open innovation and open science in AI", notable founding members include ServiceNow, Cornell University, Cleveland Clinic, and NASA.

This international, action-oriented alliance is geared towards creating opportunities for the standardisation, development, and application of AI technologies. The ultimate goal is to pave the way for AI to evolve in a manner that reflects the complexities of our societies and addresses specific societal needs.

Open and transparent innovation holds great potential for empowering a wide variety of AI researchers, builders and adopters. This, in turn, enables them to harness AI advancements that focus on safety, diversity, economic opportunity, and delivering benefits for all. A greater emphasis on collaboration and information sharing can hasten inclusive innovation and allow for risk identification and mitigation before a product comes into the market.

The newly launched AI Alliance aims to provide a platform for developers, researchers, and adopters around the world to facilitate responsible innovation in AI, ensuring scientific integrity, trust, safety, security, diversity and economic competitiveness. The alliance's objectives include advocating for diversity, developing educational resources, fostering a vibrant AI hardware accelerator ecosystem, and nurturing safer and more beneficial AI development approaches.

COO and President of ServiceNow, CJ Desai, commented on the partnership, stating, "AI innovation must remain open to drive positive and equitable societal impact, foster continued progress, and address potential risks collaboratively. There is no room for a winner-take-all approach." By joining the AI Alliance, ServiceNow aims to double down on open innovation, harnessing collective talent and expertise from the global community. This effort strives to ensure AI development is aligned with societal needs, both now and in the future.

IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said, "This is a pivotal moment in defining the future of AI. IBM is proud to partner with like-minded organizations through the AI Alliance to ensure this open ecosystem drives an innovative AI agenda underpinned by safety, accountability and scientific rigor."

President of Global Affairs of Meta, Nick Clegg, expressed enthusiasm about the alliance, stating, "We believe it's better when AI is developed openly — more people can access the benefits, build innovative products and work on safety. The AI Alliance brings together researchers, developers and companies to share tools and knowledge that can help us all make progress whether models are shared openly or not."