TL;DR:
- The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) has released “Falcon 40B,” the UAE’s first significant AI model, as an open-source platform for research and commercial use.
- Falcon 40B is a large language model with one trillion tokens and 40 billion parameters.
- TII aims to foster collaboration, accountability, and innovation in the AI field by providing access to the model’s weights.
- Developers prefer LLMs with model weight access for improved tuning possibilities.
- TII has made Falcon 40B available to both researchers and business users, unlike other LLMs that are exclusive to non-commercial users.
- TII is seeking creative ideas and uses cases for the Falcon 40B model, particularly in engineering, healthcare, sustainability, coding, and more.
- Selected projects will receive financial support and “training compute power” to accelerate their research proposals.
- Falcon 40B has demonstrated outstanding performance with significantly less training computing power compared to its competitors.
- TII’s AI and Digital Science Research Centre (AIDRC) developed Falcon 40B and previously introduced the largest Arabic NLP model, NOOR.
- TII is scheduled to release Falcon 180B in the near future, further establishing its leadership in AI research and development.
Main AI News:
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a leading international scientific research hub and the applied research pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), has made a groundbreaking announcement. The UAE’s inaugural substantial AI model, named “Falcon 40B,” is now available as an open-source platform for both research and commercial utilization. This strategic move further enhances the institute’s burgeoning global influence in the field of artificial intelligence. The decision exemplifies Abu Dhabi’s steadfast commitment to promoting collaborative efforts across various sectors and propelling generative AI to new heights.
Falcon, an essential large language model (LLM) equipped with an astounding one trillion tokens and 40 billion parameters, extends unparalleled access to academics and innovators from small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). In a bid to enable seamless utilization of the robust LLM capabilities, foster transparency and accountability, and stimulate innovation and research in the domain, TII has made the model’s weights accessible as part of an expansive open-source package.
In the present landscape of AI, developers increasingly value LLMs with access to model weights due to the improved tuning possibilities they offer. While the majority of LLMs have hitherto granted exclusive licenses solely to non-commercial users, TII has made significant strides by providing access to the Falcon 40B LLM for both researchers and business users.
To coincide with the release of Falcon 40B as an open-source model, TII has issued a call for ideas, inviting experts who are passionate about unlocking the full potential of this foundational model. These experts are encouraged to contribute their innovative suggestions, leverage the model to develop compelling use cases or explore other avenues for its application across diverse fields such as engineering, healthcare, sustainability, coding, and more.
Exceptional research proposals will have the opportunity to receive “training compute power” in the form of financial support, empowering pioneers to leverage robust computational capabilities for swift data processing, intricate modeling, and groundbreaking discoveries. This support will serve as a catalyst, accelerating the growth of innovative concepts by equipping visionaries with the necessary tools to transform their ideas into impactful AI solutions that yield both economic and social benefits.
Originally unveiled in March 2023, Falcon, with its remarkable performance, has underscored the UAE’s unwavering commitment to technological advancement. Notably, Falcon 40B has outperformed its well-known competitors by requiring significantly less training computing power, as validated by Stanford University’s HELM LLM benchmarking tool.
The results demonstrate TII’s resolute dedication to pioneering advancements in generative AI, as Falcon 40B utilizes only 75% of the training compute of OpenAI’s GPT-3, 40% of DeepMind’s Chinchilla AI, and 80% of Google’s PaLM-62B. This remarkable achievement is attributed to the efforts of TII’s AI and Digital Science Research Centre (AIDRC), the same team responsible for the introduction of NOOR, the world’s largest Arabic NLP model, last year. Excitingly, the team is on track to develop and unveil Falcon 180B in the near future, further solidifying its position at the forefront of cutting-edge AI research and development.
Conlcusion:
Еhe release of Falcon 40B as an open-source AI model by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) signifies a significant development for the market. This move opens up new possibilities for researchers, businesses, and innovators, enabling them to leverage the power of Falcon 40B’s large language model for research and commercial applications. By providing access to the model’s weights and fostering collaboration, TII is promoting transparency, accountability, and innovation in the AI sector.
This development is expected to stimulate further advancements and breakthroughs in diverse fields, ranging from engineering and healthcare to sustainability and coding. The availability of Falcon 40B, along with TII’s commitment to continued research and development, positions the market for exciting opportunities and transformative AI solutions. Organizations and professionals can now explore and harness the capabilities of Falcon 40B, paving the way for impactful and economically viable AI innovations.
