Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic have announced the appointment of Chris Meserole as the first Executive Director of the Frontier Model Forum. This industry body is focused on ensuring the safe and responsible development and use of frontier AI models globally. In addition to this, the announcement also includes the creation of a new AI Safety Fund with an initial funding commitment of over $10 million.
Chris Meserole, who previously served as the Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at the Brookings Institution, brings deep expertise on technology policy and will play a crucial role in advancing AI safety research and promoting responsible development of frontier models.
The AI Safety Fund aims to support independent researchers from academic institutions, research institutions, and startups around the world. It will focus on developing new model evaluations and red teaming techniques to test potentially dangerous capabilities of frontier AI systems. The fund will issue a call for proposals in the coming months and grants are expected to be issued shortly after.
The Frontier Model Forum has been working towards establishing a common understanding of terms, concepts, and processes related to AI safety and governance. They have also been sharing best practices on red teaming, which involves probing AI systems for harmful capabilities or infrastructural threats. The Forum is committed to continuing their red teaming efforts and developing a responsible disclosure process for frontier AI labs to share information about vulnerabilities and mitigations.
In the future, the Frontier Model Forum plans to establish an Advisory Board to guide its strategy and priorities. They also aim to deepen their engagements with the broader research community and collaborate with organizations such as the Partnership on AI and MLCommons.
This joint announcement by Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic highlights their commitment to advancing AI safety research and promoting responsible development practices. By investing in the AI Safety Fund and appointing Chris Meserole as the Executive Director of the Frontier Model Forum, these companies are taking proactive steps towards addressing the challenges presented by AI systems.
