Now, we all know these tech titans are flexing their muscles to create massive language models (LLMs) that some people believe are the next big thing in tech. But a new player has entered the scene, and it's not just another Silicon Valley startup. Nope, this one's coming straight out of Europe.
So, what's the deal with Europe's AI game, you ask? Well, it turns out that it's not all about the hardware muscle that Big Tech is throwing around. Sure, these LLMs need some serious computing power, but they also hunger for something else – a feast of language data. And guess what? Europe might just have an edge in that department.
You see, GPT-3.5, the powerhouse behind ChatGPT, gorged itself on a whopping 45 terabytes of text data. Now, that's a feast fit for a language model king. But Europe might have the upper hand when it comes to less commonly used languages. That's right, where the web has fewer linguistic breadcrumbs, Europe could be sitting on a goldmine of publicly funded text data.
Now, let me introduce you to Storehouse, the underdog in this AI showdown. They've unleashed a multilingual marvel called Poro (Finnish for reindeer, because why not?). This beauty is trained on both Finnish and English, like a language polyglot on steroids. It's like the Elon Musk of language models, fluent in multiple tongues.
Storehouse has this trick called "broadly training." It's like teaching your model to salsa dance in two languages at once. Poro can waltz through Finnish and English text, offering answers in either language, like a true linguistic maestro.
However Storehouse plans to open source this broadly trained magic. That means we could soon see AI models sprouting across all European languages, even in those linguistic nooks and crannies where data is scarcer than a Monday morning smile.
While others are chomping on NVIDIA chips for breakfast, Storehouse went for the underdog – AMD chips. Critics say they're expensive and inefficient for AI, but Storehouse doesn't seem bothered. They've been crafting software wizardry that dances perfectly with LUMI, an EU-backed supercomputer that came online in 2022. It's like pairing wine with cheese, but in the tech world.
Now, the grand vision – European companies breaking free from the shackles of Big Tech and forging their own path in the AI realm. Storehouse's co-founder, Peter Sarlin, throws down the gauntlet, urging Europe to avoid being a mere AI consumer and start creating its own value.
In the long run, Europe might just have a shot at AI glory, armed with a reindeer and a whole lot of language data and I, for one, am ready for the next chapter.
