Generative artificial intelligence have become the buzzwords for the tech industry in 2023. There also is a lot of concern over how generative AI could get out of control. Today, four leading AI tech companies have teamed up to create the Frontier Model Forum. The goal of this group is to ensure "safe and responsible development” of generative AI, specifically for frontier AI models.
Frontier AI models are described by this group as "large-scale machine-learning models that exceed the capabilities currently present in the most advanced existing models, and can perform a wide variety of tasks."
The founding members of the group are Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. In a Google blog post that announced the Frontier Model Forum, the group announced its goals:
- Advancing AI safety research to promote responsible development of frontier models, minimize risks, and enable independent, standardized evaluations of capabilities and safety.
- Identifying best practices for the responsible development and deployment of frontier models, helping the public understand the nature, capabilities, limitations, and impact of the technology.
- Collaborating with policymakers, academics, civil society and companies to share knowledge about trust and safety risks.
- Supporting efforts to develop applications that can help meet society’s greatest challenges, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, early cancer detection and prevention, and combating cyber threats.
The new group will begin by establishing an Advisory Board so it can begin coming up with recommendations on safety standards for frontier AI models, along with working on AI safety research and to share info on these efforts with other companies and governments.
The joint message included a quote from Microsoft president Brad Smith:
Companies creating AI technology have a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, secure, and remains under human control. This initiative is a vital step to bring the tech sector together in advancing AI responsibly and tackling the challenges so that it benefits all of humanity.
The Frontier Model Forum is also open to adding more companies to join this group if they are also working on frontier AI models, and "demonstrate strong commitment to frontier model safety, including through technical and institutional approaches."