Abu Dhabi government-backed research centre Technology Innovation Institute has launched Falcon 180B – an advanced iteration of its flagship language model – to boost generative artificial intelligence capabilities in the region.
Large language models are types of generative AI that can imitate human intelligence. They can distinguish, review, translate, forecast and produce new content – text, audio or visual – using large data sets.
Falcon 180B, which will be offered as an open access model for research and commercial purposes, will strengthen the UAE's dominance in AI, TII said in a statement on Wednesday.
It follows Falcon 40B, an open-source AI model launched earlier this year. Falcon 40B was one of the first open-source models for both researchers and commercial users.
Google and OpenAI, the two front runners in the burgeoning field, have maintained shut foundational models, expressing concern that large language models could be manipulated to spread misinformation or other potentially dangerous content.
But proponents of open source software say keeping these systems closed unfairly curtails innovation and hampers their potential to improve the world.
“We are committed to democratising access to advanced AI, as our privacy and the potential impact of AI on humanity should not be controlled by a select few,” Faisal Al Bannai, secretary general of Advanced Technology Research Council, which houses TII, said.
“While we may not have all the answers, our resolve remains unwavering: to collaborate and contribute to the open source community, ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared by all.”
TII said Falcon 180B soars to the top of the Hugging Face leader board for pretrained large language models. It outperformed competitors like Meta’s LLaMA 2 in various benchmarks, including reasoning, coding, proficiency and knowledge tests, it added.
Hugging Face is a collaboration platform for the global machine learning community.
With more than 12 million developers adopting and deploying the first release of Falcon, the new upgrade is expected to become the key model for various domains, from chatbots to code generation.
Falcon 180B is compatible with major languages including English, German, Spanish and French, with limited capabilities in Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Romanian, Czech and Swedish.
“Falcon 180B heralds a new era of generative AI, where the potential of scientific advancement is made available through open access to fuel the innovations of tomorrow,” Dr Ebtesam Almazrouei, executive director and acting chief researcher of AI cross-centre unit at TII, said.
“As we delve into frontiers of science and technology, our vision extends far beyond innovation … it's about nurturing a profound connection to address global challenges through collaborative breakthroughs.”
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Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
