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**Google-Backed Public Interest AI Partnership Launches with $400M+ Pledged for Open Ecosystem Building**
A new public-interest artificial intelligence (AI) initiative, Current AI, has launched today at the France AI Action Summit in Paris. The organization is backed by Google and aims to promote open-source AI development for the benefit of society.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Current AI’s co-founder, Tisné, emphasized that their focus is on addressing the current state of AI, rather than worrying about futuristic scenarios or hypothetical risks. “We spent a lot of time in AI worrying about a really distant future and what might happen,” he said. “So this is really an effort to focus on the opportunities and the harms today.”
The initiative has already secured over $400 million in commitments from supporters like Google, alongside other unnamed investors. This substantial funding will be used to build an open ecosystem for AI development that prioritizes transparency, safety, and accessibility.
In a significant move, Current AI has also received endorsements from influential figures within the tech industry, such as serial entrepreneurs and investors Brent Hoberman and Reid Hoffman, as well as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. These supporters believe it is essential to put society in charge of AI development, rather than relying solely on private interests.
To achieve this goal, Current AI plans to ensure that high-value datasets are accessible in privacy-preserving and safe ways, incentivize the creation of smaller, open AI models tailored to people’s needs, and scale up open-source AI to improve transparency, safety, and accessibility for all.
Source: techcrunch.com
