Microsoft, OpenAI-backed AI safety forum names first director, plans advisory board

Reuters

Published Oct 25, 2023 07:35AM ET

Updated Oct 25, 2023 12:46PM ET

(Reuters) - An artificial intelligence safety forum launched by companies including OpenAI, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google named its first director on Wednesday, and said it would create an advisory board in the coming months to help guide its strategy.

The Frontier Model Forum also said it created a fund to back research into the technology, with initial funding commitments of more than $10 million from its backers and partners.

It said its first-ever director would be Chris Meserole, who most recently served as director of AI and emerging technology initiative at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.

He joins a forum launched in July with a focus on "frontier AI models" that exceed the capabilities present in the most advanced existing models. Industry leaders have warned that such models could have dangerous capabilities sufficient to pose severe risks to public safety.