OpenAI launches global push for democratic AI
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OpenAI announced a push to help countries build AI infrastructure and promote AI rooted in democratic, rather than authoritarian, values.
Why it matters: Global expansion will be one key to ensuring that OpenAI's massive investments pay off — and the company is arguing that it will help the U.S. counter China's influence, too.
How it works: OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane said the new "OpenAI for Countries" effort, announced Wednesday, aims to partner with countries or regions to build and operate data centers that would serve up localized versions of ChatGPT for their citizens, with particular focus on health care and education.
- Countries that take part would help fund infrastructure as part of a broadening of the Project Stargate effort that OpenAI announced with Oracle and SoftBank earlier this year.
- OpenAI will be working closely with the U.S. government, which has export control powers, to determine where OpenAI technology can be deployed.
Catch up quick: OpenAI is in the midst of restructuring its business from a "capped-profit" partnership to a public benefit corporation.
- That process is not done. Bloomberg reported late Monday that Microsoft and OpenAI are still negotiating and regulators have yet to give their blessing.
The big picture: OpenAI's announcement comes a day before CEO Sam Altman is set to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing on "Winning the AI race."
What they're saying: "We have a window here to help create pathways so that a large portion of the world is building on democratic AI at a moment when the world's going to have to choose between democratic AI and autocratic [AI]," Lehane told Axios.
- The project offers countries local sovereignty over data and the ability to partner with OpenAI on a fund to help seed a "national AI ecosystem" by backing local startups.
Between the lines: OpenAI for Countries builds on the notion of "democratic AI" that Altman laid out in a 2024 Washington Post op-ed.
- It also aims to capitalize on strong demand from other countries to have their own version of Stargate, a sentiment OpenAI heard frequently during this year's AI Action Summit in Paris.
- The new effort is also designed to align with the Trump Administration's goal of ensuring that the U.S. wins the global battle for AI supremacy versus China.
Yes, but: There is plenty of disagreement in the U.S. and globally over what democratic AI means.
Zoom in: One of the big questions is just how much OpenAI will be willing to customize ChatGPT, an important factor for countries weighing whether to use U.S. or Chinese AI systems.
- "This will be AI of, by and for the needs of each particular country," OpenAI said in the blog post announcing OpenAI for Countries.
- There won't be a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to the deals, Lehane said. "There'll be some places that maybe want an inference model for a specific purpose."
OpenAI's blog includes a reference to preventing AI from being used by governments to "amass control."
- "We do want to make sure we're protecting individual freedoms," Lehane said.
