The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi inaugurated the Open-Source AI Summit, gathering over 300 international AI experts, including representatives from Meta and Google DeepMind. Discussions centered on ethical considerations in AI ownership, sustainable AI computing innovations, and compute power challenges. TII leadership emphasized the importance of open-source models like Falcon AI for fostering collaborative innovation and global access. Why it matters: The summit highlights the UAE's commitment to shaping the global AI agenda by promoting open-source AI development and addressing critical governance and ethical issues.
Technology Innovation Institute (TII) will host the inaugural Open Source AI Summit Abu Dhabi on November 26-27, convening AI scientists and industry experts from Meta, Google DeepMind, Oxford, Tsinghua, and local institutions to discuss open-source AI. Key topics include AI accessibility, safety, ethics, governance, compute power, and international alliances. TII was among the first to open source a LLM with Falcon 40B in May 2023. Why it matters: The summit highlights the UAE's growing role in shaping the global conversation around open and responsible AI development.
KAUST showcased its AI initiatives at the 2022 Global AI Summit in Riyadh, highlighting its efforts to increase AI capacity and innovation in Saudi Arabia. Jurgen Schmidhuber, Director of the KAUST AI Initiative, addressed attendees on AI and deep learning, while Provost Lawrence Carin and Deputy Director Bernard Ghanem discussed AI talent development. KAUST is partnering with public and private sector institutions to embed AI in key areas such as security, energy, data analytics, and health. Why it matters: This participation reinforces KAUST's central role in advancing AI research and development within the Kingdom and aligns with Saudi Arabia's broader vision for technological leadership.
KAUST's Center of Excellence for Generative AI will host the fourth annual "Rising Stars in AI" Symposium from April 7-10, 2025. The symposium is designed for emerging researchers (PhD students, PostDocs, and early career faculty) to discuss AI research. Selected speakers will have their flights and hotel expenses covered. Why it matters: This event provides a platform for young AI researchers to present their work and network with peers, fostering innovation and collaboration in the field.
The K2 Think Hackathon, organized by MBZUAI, selected 16 finalist teams from nearly 900 applications across 57 countries. The teams will compete in Abu Dhabi to build applications powered by K2 Think, an open-source reasoning system. The winning team's idea will be integrated into the K2 Think app. Why it matters: This hackathon highlights the growing interest in AI development and provides a platform for global talent to contribute to open-source AI projects in the UAE.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi has launched the Falcon Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to advancing open-source generative AI models. TII is committing $300 million to fund open-source AI projects, beginning with its Falcon AI models. The foundation aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders, developers, academia, and industry to promote transparent governance and knowledge exchange in AI. Why it matters: This initiative signals the UAE's commitment to leading in AI development through open-source innovation and collaboration, potentially accelerating AI adoption and customization across various sectors.
MBZUAI is hosting a short course on developing open-source machine learning packages. The course will be led by Chih-Jen Lin, an affiliated professor at MBZUAI and distinguished professor at National Taiwan University, who has developed widely used ML packages like LIBSVM and LibMultiLabel. The course will cover topics such as starting a project, choosing functionalities, and identifying research problems from user feedback. Why it matters: This course can help improve the quality and usability of open-source machine learning tools coming from the region's research institutions.
Qirong Ho, co-founder and CTO of Petuum Inc., will be contributing to the "ML Systems for Many" initiative. Petuum is recognized for creating standardized building blocks for AI assembly. Ho also holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and is part of the CASL open-source consortium. Why it matters: Showcases the ongoing efforts to democratize AI development and deployment, making it more accessible and sustainable, although the specific initiative is not further detailed.