Mozilla, the company behind the popular Firefox browser, has announced a $30 million investment in a new initiative called Mozilla.ai.

This startup and community will focus on creating a trustworthy, independent, and open-source artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem.

As we enter the third month of 2023, it is evident that AI is one of the year’s most significant stories.

The technology has captured the public’s imagination, like Netscape in 1994 and the iPhone in 2007.

New AI tools, such as Stable Diffusion and the recently released GPT-4, are transforming the internet, communication, creativity, and society as a whole.

At the same time, older AI tools, like the recommendation engines that power YouTube, TikTok, and other social apps, continue to grow in power and impact billions of lives.

The rapid development of AI has generated excitement but has also caused significant concerns.

People are not only wondering about AI’s potential and benefits but also about the possible risks and ways to mitigate them.

In addition, the last two decades of social media and smartphones have left people cautious.

Mozilla has been exploring the potential of trustworthy AI, engaging its community to identify and document issues, and investing in startups working on responsible AI solutions.

The company believes that the latest wave of AI has the potential to enrich lives, but only if it is designed with a focus on human agency, user interests, transparency, and accountability.

Mozilla has encountered thousands of individuals, including founders, engineers, scientists, designers, artists, and activists, working on open-source AI technology and exploring ways to build trust in AI systems.

However, the company has noticed that the big tech and cloud companies with the most power and influence need to adopt this approach.

Instead, these companies continue consolidating their control over the market, leaving Mozilla.ai to counter the status quo.

Mozilla.ai aims to make it easy to develop trustworthy AI products by building a community of like-minded individuals outside of big tech and academia.

The initiative’s initial focus will be on tools that make generative AI safer and more transparent and people-centric recommendation systems that do not misinform or undermine well-being.

More details on the specific projects will be shared in the coming months.

Moez Draief has over a decade of experience working on cutting-edge AI applications and will lead Mozilla.ai as Managing Director.

The initial board members will include Harvard’s Karim Lakhani, Credo’s Navrina Singh, and a Mozilla representative.

Mozilla.ai will announce additional initiatives, partnerships, and events later this year, providing opportunities for people to get involved.

Those interested in collaborating can reach out at [email protected].