A nonprofit foundation has been launched through the collaboration of businesses, academia, and civil society to enhance online safety in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).
The 'ROOST (Robust Open Online Safety Tools)' initiative announced its official launch on the 10th (local time) in Paris, France, coinciding with the 3rd International AI Summit.
Based at Columbia University in New York, USA, the foundation aims to create a safe internet environment in the AI era through cooperation among major IT companies and global philanthropic organizations. Participants include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Discord, OpenAI, Google, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and the Project Liberty Institute.
ROOST plans to provide security solutions using AI-based technology, especially in the field of child protection among online safety issues. Additionally, it intends to offer support for detecting and reporting child sexual abuse content, develop safety technologies utilizing large language models (LLMs), and provide functions to block harmful online content.
ROOST will offer free tools based on open source that can be easily used by public or private institutions, and plans to support small and medium-sized enterprises and nonprofit organizations in building their own security systems.
ROOST has secured an initial investment of $27 million (approximately 39.2 billion KRW) over the past four years from IT companies and philanthropic organizations. It plans to pursue global expansion by collaborating with more companies and institutions in the future.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, "ROOST will play a crucial role in accelerating innovation for online child protection and AI safety," adding, "It will enhance internet safety by providing technologies that were previously inaccessible to small and medium-sized enterprises and nonprofit organizations."
Camille Fran?ois, CEO of ROOST and professor at Columbia University, stated, "ROOST has opened a new era of collaborative safety innovation," and added, "By enabling everyone to use powerful safety tools through open source, we will create a more diverse and safer future in the AI era."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
