Photo by Focal Foto via Flickr.AI startup OpenAI has announced the launch of OpenAI for Countries, a new initiative to help governments worldwide develop their AI systems. According to the company, this initiative will be part of its Stargate project, announced a few months ago.
This project aims to hasten the development, deployment, and use of AI infrastructure that is built based on democratic principles to serve as an alternative to totalitarian models.
The company said:
“We want to help these countries and, in the process, spread democratic AI, which means the development, use, and deployment of AI that protects and incorporates long-standing democratic principles.”
As part of this initiative, OpenAI intends to partner with interested countries through the US to improve their AI capabilities. Some of the planned projects through the initiative include building secure data centers in partner countries, providing localized versions of ChatGPT, and establishing national startup funds, among others.
Partner countries are also expected to invest in the expansion of the Stargate Project, thereby allowing the US-led AI efforts to have a global reach. The company stated that it aims to pursue 10 projects with individual countries or regions in the first phase of the initiative.
OpenAI Stargate project is finally taking shape
Meanwhile, the new initiative means the Stargate Project OpenAI announced in January is finally taking shape. When the company announced the $500 billion Stargate venture at the start of the year with a pledge to commit $100 billion, there were questions as to what the company had planned.
However, this OpenAI for Countries now shows that the AI giant is planning to entrench its dominance in the sector by partnering with governments globally. Its decision to also do this in partnership with the US suggests that it wants to avoid being on the wrong side of regulators.
For investors in the company, this is a positive development and takes focus away from the recent public scrutiny over the company’s structure. OpenAI had recently planned to restructure and shift control away from its nonprofit but decided to pull back due to backlash from AI and legal experts.
Instead, the company has now decided to keep its nonprofit in control but changed its for-profit subsidiary into a public benefit corporation. This move is expected to help OpenAI attract more capital without totally sacrificing its nonprofit mission.
Altman’s Worldcoin faces more regulatory pressures
Interestingly, OpenAI’s efforts to court governments globally contrast with what is happening with Sam Altman’s venture, Worldcoin. The crypto project known for using biometric iris scans to build digital identities has faced increased regulatory scrutiny in the last few weeks.
Indonesia recently banned Worldcoin from operating, citing violations of its data privacy rules. This is similar to the complaints that the project has faced in several countries, including Spain, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
A Kenyan court has even ordered Worldcoin to delete the biometric data of users in the country, noting that the company gathered the data illegally without the consent of the Office of Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
Unsurprisingly, the legal uncertainties around Worldcoin have led to the WLD token falling significantly in value. The token is down 52.68% this year and trades 91% down from its peak.
However, it is up 14% today and trades at $1.05, a direct result of the general surge in crypto market value. Nevertheless, it is uncertain whether the token will maintain this bullish performance.
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