What is the secret to AI success? Making it open.

Historic trends have taught us that technological revolutions can have a positive economic impact, and now with a new AI revolution upon us, there is an opportunity for this to be the case once again. However, as the industry races ahead in the generative AI space, it’s important to look at where we’ve been, in order to understand the best way forward.  

At the Day 1 Keynote of All Things Open, Laurence Moroney, AI Advocacy Lead at Google, will discuss the necessity of open source for successful AI development. He’ll reflect on past trends across various emerging technologies, and speak to the various outcomes that could develop from the current AI revolution. What lessons have we learned from previous innovations? Where is our industry headed now, and how can developers capitalize on opportunities with AI and generative AI? This keynote will address many of these questions. 

In anticipation of this talk, let’s highlight a few key thought starters.

1. “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – Winston Churchill 

Generative AI has emerged on the scene, but not for the first time. How can we learn from history? Leading economists point to past trends which prove that inventing a new genre of AI developers created a new AI ecosystem. How was this genre enabled? 

Open source. Google played a role in that ecosystem by open sourcing its AI framework through TensorFlow — a successful lesson we continue to let guide us in this new AI revolution. Open source allows access, research, and innovation to flourish.

2. Believe The Hype… Cycle

Every technology story follows a pattern, and this isn’t AI’s first tale. The Gartner Hype Cycle 

describes the various stages of emerging technology, and by understanding past examples, we can see where we are now, and where we may be headed. When technology triggers occur, we launch into the Peak of Inflated Expectations, where the narrative spins out of control, and the technology is misunderstood. 

Once truth and reality can take hold, in the Trough of Disillusionment, true innovation and enlightenment can begin, leading finally to successful Productivity. Currently, the key to generative AI success lies with working in the open, while being thoughtful about what we produce. This approach leads us out of the “Peak”, through the “Trough”, and into “Productivity”. 

3. OSS is the Key to Success

Let’s be deliberate and measured as we approach generative AI, while understanding the patterns of the Hype Cycle. We’ve learned how important the contributions of OSS developers are, and how the more talent is shared, the more we all succeed. So let’s be clear about what OSS is, and is not, and continue its history of success by enabling developers.

You can discover more about open source at Google by visiting opensource.google, or stopping by the virtual booth during All Things Open. If you’d like to learn more about Machine Learning foundations, check out Google AI.

The Featured Blog Posts series highlights posts from partners and members of the All Things Open community leading up to ATO 2023.