Introduced at the AI Action Summit in France, Current AI stands out as a new partnership established to support artificial intelligence projects for public benefit. The initiative sets off with a commitment of $400 million in initial investment, aiming to attract an additional $2.5 billion in extra investment over the next five years. The project targets to enhance efficiency in the fields of health, climate, and social impact.

A new partnership is emerging in the field of artificial intelligence. Current AI was announced as an initiative focused on promoting the development of AI in beneficial ways for society under the theme of “public interest.”

This new initiative was revealed at the AI Action Summit in France and starts off with an initial commitment of $400 million. The goal of the project is to attract an additional $2.5 billion in investment over the next five years.

Although it seems modest compared to the newly announced $112 billion private sector aid package in France, supporters of Current AI believe this amount can still have a significant impact as the initiative does not directly focus on computational power.

Critical studies on how artificial intelligence can be used for public benefit in areas such as health and climate goals are targeted.

Some of the goals of Current AI include:

Increasing access to high-quality public and private datasets for use in AI education.Supporting open-source infrastructure and tools to enhance the transparency and security of AI.Promoting the development of systems that measure the social and environmental impact of AI.

DEVELOPING TREATMENTS FOR DISEASES

The founder of the initiative, Martin Tisne, summarizes the goal of Current AI with the following words:

“This initiative will serve as a ‘North Star’ to direct public funds towards critical artificial intelligence projects. We aim to enable the use of artificial intelligence in fighting diseases like cancer or developing treatments for illnesses such as Long COVID.” OPEN SOURCE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Current AI aims to strengthen the open-source ecosystem by investing in open-source artificial intelligence tools to make them as easily and effectively usable as proprietary solutions. Additionally, the initiative will conduct work in the field of AI accountability.

Tisne states that their goal is to establish common standards for the oversight of AI systems and ensure active participation from different communities in these processes.

SUPPORTED BY GOOGLE

The initiative is backed by a combination of public and private entities.

Among the nine countries listed as partners at the launch, the governments of France, Germany, Chile, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria are included. (Note: The U.S. is not a participant, nor are any governments in Asia, therefore Current AI’s efforts are guided by policymakers in Europe and the Global South. The other listed countries are Finland, Slovenia, and Switzerland.)

However, other companies listed as “core partners” in the press release include U.S. technology giants Google and Salesforce.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ECOSYSTEM SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT

Tisne says they can support the development of privacy-preserving technologies to expand access to health data.

Current AI will focus on three main areas of activity:Providing direct financial support. (via grant programs)Nurturing new AI innovations by encouraging research.Aligning different financing sources towards common goals.

Half of the donated funds will be distributed as grants, while the other half will be directed towards projects focusing on data access, open-source, and AI accountability.

Current AI announced that they will unveil new supporters in the coming months. Tisne specifically mentioned their desire to collaborate with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.