Ali Farhadi, one of Apple’s key machine learning executives, is leaving the company to become CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Farhadi believes Apple will invest in Xnor․, the startup he founded. He joined Apple in 2020 after acquiring ai in a deal worth about $200 million.
The move was announced today by the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, known as AI2. The non-profit was founded by Paul Allen in his 2014 and focuses on artificial intelligence and engineering to make a big impact “for the common good.”
Farhadi will become CEO of AI2. Xnor․ This is his return to the springboard, as ai was initially spun out of his incubator for AI2 startup, then in 2020 he was acquired by Apple (via) geek wire).
Farhadi said in a statement about the move:
We are facing unprecedented changes in the development and use of AI, and as a CEO, I can’t think of a better time to return to AI2.
Today, more than ever, the world needs truly open and transparent AI research based on science and a place where data, algorithms and models are open and available to everyone. I believe this radical approach to openness is essential to building the next generation of AI. AI2’s world-class researchers and engineers are uniquely positioned to lead this new open and trusted approach to AI development.
As is often the case when a startup is acquired by Apple, the transition process and Xnor․ There aren’t many details about where ai’s employees got hired within Apple. Farhadi reportedly led the company’s “next-generation machine learning efforts” during his tenure at Apple.
Apple’s machine learning and AI strategy team is led by former Google executive John Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018. Since Giannandrea joined his Apple company, his AI and ML teams have gone through multiple changes and reorganizations.
Machine learning plays an important role in many of Apple’s products, from the Apple Watch’s health features to on-device intelligence features and more. Gianandrea doesn’t speak to the press often, but in a 2020 interview he explained Apple’s reliance on machine learning and how this technology has enabled the company to take such a firm stance on user privacy. I emphasized that I could get
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