The move was made in order to assuage competition concerns with top rival OpenAI.
As was recently reported by QR Code Press, Microsoft recently partnered with – and invested in – the artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI.
The France-based company has developed its own generative AI.
Since the partnership between Microsoft and Mistral AI, the tech giant has launched a large effort to try to hinder competition by way of its massive financial stake and partnership with OpenAI.
Therefore, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Monday, Microsoft launched its “AI Access Principles”. This was comprised of eleven points the company has said will “govern how we will operate our AI datacenter infrastructure and other important AI assets around the world.”
The points on the list make reference to everything from the creation and operation of an app store making it possible for businesses to select from among various LLMs and other AI products, as well as a commitment to keep training models separate from the company’s proprietary data.
The list also makes reference to a commitment to allow customers to change their services within the cloud, or to change cloud providers altogether if that is what they want. It underscores the critical nature of establishing cybersecurity surrounding all artificial intelligence services, a focus on eco-friendly data center and infrastructure construction and operation, and investments into education.
Conflicting artificial intelligence principles announcement
Interestingly, while the intention of the announcement appeared to be to indicate that Microsoft intended to be highly transparent and open to dialogue regarding the principles, company Vice Chair and President Brad Smith chose not to follow his keynote speech with any opportunity for the audience to pose follow-up questions.
The announcement has arrived at a time in which Microsoft has been facing growing scrutiny from regulators – particularly in Europe and North America – regarding its $13 billion investment into OpenAI, in which it has a 49 percent stake in the top generative artificial intelligence services company in the world.
At the start of this year, the competition watchdog in Europe announced that it would be conducting an assessment of whether Microsoft’s investment into OpenAI is in violation of the region’s antitrust regulations.
