OpenAI Launches Academy to Support Global AI Development in Underserved Communities
The initiative will provide training, $1 million in API credits, and foster global collaboration to enhance local AI talent and address pressing challenges across various sectors.
OpenAI is launching the OpenAI Academy, a new initiative to invest in developers and organizations leveraging AI to solve pressing problems and drive economic growth in their communities, with an initial focus on low- and middle-income countries.
The Academy aims to democratize access to artificial intelligence technology by providing resources to diverse communities worldwide where technical resources remain limited despite growing technology sectors and talented developers.
"Investing in the development of local AI talent can fuel economic growth and innovation across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, and finance," according to OpenAI's announcement.
The program will provide four key resources: training and technical guidance from OpenAI experts; an initial $1 million in API credits to expand access to OpenAI models; community building efforts to foster global collaboration; and contests and incubators in partnership with philanthropists.
OpenAI's initiative builds on previous success supporting AI developers addressing global challenges. KOBI, winner of the OpenAI prize at The Tools Competition, uses AI to help students with dyslexia learn to read. I-Stem, another successful project and winner of the turn.io Chat for Impact contest, leverages AI to enhance access to content for blind and low-vision communities in India seeking meaningful employment.
To further global accessibility, OpenAI has funded and published professional translations of the Massive Multitask Language Understanding (MMLU) benchmark into 14 languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, and Yoruba.
"Supporting those who understand the unique cultures, economies, and social dynamics of their communities will help ensure that AI applications are tailored to meet local needs," states OpenAI in its announcement. The company plans to share more details soon about how developers and organizations can access the Academy's resources.
I will keep you updated as more information about the Academy is released.
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