UAE artificial intelligence company G42 has launched its Frontier AI Safety Framework, as it seeks to ensure the responsible development and deployment of the booming technology amid perceived risks and safety concerns.
The framework aims to adapt to emerging AI trends and will help the Abu Dhabi-based company in structuring an AI strategy backed by "rigorous" standards for security, autonomy and ethical consideration across its operational domains, G42 said in the publication released on Thursday.
It "sets clear protocols for risk assessment, governance and external oversight to ensure the safe and responsible development of advanced AI models", G42 said.
It also makes G42 one of the first AI companies in the Middle East to introduce a comprehensive AI safety framework, reinforcing its role as the UAE's leading AI firm, with the potential of serving as a model for other entities to follow suit.
"The framework is tailored specifically to address the unique challenges and risks associated with high-capability AI, building on industry best practices and aligning with established responsible AI principles," G42 said in the publication.
It "emphasises proactive risk identification and mitigation, centring on capability monitoring, robust governance, and multi-layered safeguards to ensure powerful AI models are both innovative and safe".
In addition, the systematic approach to early threat detection and risk management would support G42 in "unlocking the benefits of frontier AI safely and ethically", it added.
The framework is also a culmination of the pledge G42 had made to the Frontier AI Safety Commitments at last year's AI Seoul Summit and the Bletchley Declaration, which is a call for international co-operation to manage AI risks forged by those attending the 2023 AI Safety Summit in the UK.
“With such power comes responsibility," Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, said in a separate statement. "This framework reflects our commitment to AI safety, ensuring that innovation moves forward with the right safeguards in place."
AI has long been used in several segments of society but rose to the spotlight with the advent of generative AI in 2023. However, the lack of a formal governing body has spurred a number of challenges, including its potential to spread misinformation and be weaponised.
The issues with AI have become so substantial that there has been even a call to "pause giant AI experiments", because "AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research", according to the Future of Life Institute, a non-profit group based in California.
Geoffrey Hinton, considered the "godfather of AI" and a pioneer of deep learning, had also spoken of the dangers some of his creations may pose when he left Google in 2023, from eliminating jobs to the threat of AI becoming sentient as it can learn on its own by self-analysing huge amounts of data.
Companies and governments have therefore been moving to rein in the technology. G42's framework, in particular, is committed to developing AI systems that "align with its principles that prioritise fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, security and inclusiveness to reflect and uphold societal values".
As detailed in the framework, the company is taking several steps to achieve this goal, starting with conducting internal risk analysis, with inputs from external AI safety experts to identify potential security capabilities across several domains, including biological risks, cyber security and autonomous operations in specialised fields.
This will lead to mitigation measures for its products that will be deployed externally, which aim to protect systems against misuse, as AI models reach higher levels of capability and risk.
G42 has also appointed a dedicated frontier AI governance board, led by its chief responsible AI officer Andrew Jackson, to oversee the endeavour. Transparency reports, both within G42 and public, and external audits will also be enforced.
The framework will be implemented in phases: the first six months will feature the establishment of foundational security protocols, and the operational rollout will be conducted within 12 months; beyond this will be "continuous improvement and expansion".
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
More on animal trafficking
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')
Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mobile phone packages comparison
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More coverage from the Future Forum
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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