The Linux Foundation Welcomes the Open Model Initiative for Open AI Model Development | Linux | AI models | OMI | Turtles AI

The Linux Foundation announces the integration of the Open Model Initiative, a project aimed at developing high-quality, free, open-licensed AI models, overcoming the limitations imposed by commercial licenses. This collaborative effort, supported by several organizations, aims to create an environment conducive to ethical and accessible AI development.

Highlights:

• The Linux Foundation integrates the Open Model Initiative to promote high-quality open-source AI models.
• OMI aims to overcome barriers imposed by commercial licenses, offering free and open models.
• The project plans to create a transparent dataset and shared standards for AI model interoperability.
• OMI invites the open-source community to participate in the development and governance of AI models.

The Linux Foundation, renowned for its crucial role in fostering innovation through open-source software, recently announced the integration of the Open Model Initiative (OMI) into its community. The OMI is designed to promote the development and adoption of high-quality AI models distributed under open licenses, free from recurring costs or deletion clauses, responding to the growing demand for open-source AI solutions. This project, initiated through a collaboration between founding organizations such as Invoke, CivitAI, and Comfy Org, is now an independent open-source foundation within the Linux Foundation, governed by a community-led steering committee.

Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation, emphasized the significance of this step, noting how the OMI represents a major advancement toward democratizing AI, making it accessible and beneficial for everyone. The initiative aims to create an environment where creativity and progress in AI can flourish without obstacles, thanks to genuinely open-source models.

The OMI has outlined specific objectives to achieve this goal, including establishing a governance framework and working groups for collaborative community development, conducting a survey to gather feedback from the open-source community on future model research and training, and setting shared standards to enhance model interoperability and metadata practices. Additionally, the initiative plans to develop a transparent dataset for training, begin captioning processes, conduct security tests on an alpha model, and release an alpha version of the model with fine-tuning scripts to the community by the end of the year.

Kent Keirsey, CEO and Founder of Invoke, expressed confidence that open-source is the best path forward to ensure AI benefits everyone. According to Keirsey, OMI’s commitment to open-source development under the Linux Foundation will allow the creation of competitive, high-quality AI models with open licenses that will advance AI creativity and meet the community’s needs.

The OMI invites individuals and organizations passionate about open source and AI to actively participate in the project, contributing to the development of open AI models. More information on how to join the working groups or contribute to the development is available on the OMI Discord and GitHub channels.

This initiative is part of a broader evolution in AI, where transparency, ethics, and accessibility are increasingly at the forefront of discussions. As the world grapples with the implications of AI, projects like the OMI could represent a significant step towards a more open and inclusive AI, addressing not only market needs but also societal concerns.