In July 2023, four tech giants; Open AI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic, announced a platform called the Frontier Model Forum to ensure the safe and responsible development of generative AI, especially frontier AI models.

These companies have made another joint announcement of the appointment of Chris Meserole as the first Executive Director of the Frontier Model Forum and the establishment of an AI safety fund with a more than $10 million initiative.

The initiative is meant to promote research in the field of AI safety. Additionally, the Frontier Model is sharing its first technical working group update on red teaming.

According to Google, Chris Meserole recently worked as Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at the Brookings Institution.

Now, as the Executive Director, his latest role requires him to identify and share best practices for frontier models, expand knowledge to academics, policymakers, and civilians, and support efforts to leverage AI to address society’s biggest challenges.

Chris Meserole statement:

“The most powerful AI models hold strong promise for society, but to realize their full usefullness, we need to better understand how to safely develop and evaluate them. I’m excited to take on that challenge with the Frontier Model Forum.”

As of now, major contributions have come from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Google and philanthropist), and Jaan Tallinn (Estonian billionaire).

The fund, administered by the Meridian Institute, will soon call for proposals in the next few months and grants can be expected shortly after that.