How AI in Public and Private Sectors Could Transform Our Ethical and Inclusive Future

Mozilla views public AI as a robust ecosystem of initiatives focused on public service throughout its development and implementation, raising questions about its potential societal impacts.

AI in Public vs. Private Sectors: A Balance to Achieve

Every day, we seamlessly switch between private and public services, from transportation to internet access. Artificial Intelligence (AI) should follow the same model. However, AI development is predominantly driven by private enterprises, sidelining crucial areas like health and environment for more profitable markets.

The Significance of Public AI

To address these gaps, developing public AI is vital, grounded in three main pillars. First, it should offer open and accessible resources like open-source models to allow broader participation. Second, it must serve communities often overlooked by the market, such as workers or marginalized groups. Lastly, public AI should focus on public interest applications, typically ignored by the private sector.

Public AI has the potential to revolutionize technology access, similar to historic public investments in public transportation or broadcasting. Yet, transitioning involves inherent risks.

Challenges of Public AI

Public AI could replicate some private sector issues, such as “biases, surveillance, and abuses”, if not meticulously managed. Moreover, securing sustainable funding for public AI projects is a monumental challenge compared to the private sector.

Despite these challenges, support for public AI has been growing. In the past five years, about $850 million has been poured into public AI labs. Still, this pales in comparison to the billions funneled into private AI.

A Public AI Ecosystem: A Necessity

Today, Mozilla unveils its vision for a robust public AI ecosystem, encompassing public goods, orientation, and usage at every AI development stage. “It’s not enough for some AI resources to be more accessible, or for organizations to support a few AI for Good projects,” Mozilla believes, “We need a complete parallel AI ecosystem.”

The call is out for everyone to contribute to this public AI initiative, from developers to the general public. Everyone has a crucial role to play.