Google and Facebook recently announced a partnership to enable the open-sourced machine learning framework PyTorch to work with Tensor-Processing Units (TPUs).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamfalcon/2018/10/03/what-will-google-and-facebooks-ai-partnership-accomplish/#5ba90be64c2f"PyTorch is Facebook's open-source framework which enables development of mathematical programs like those used in Artificial Intelligence research. Such frameworks allow researchers to develop arbitrarily complicated mathematical computational graphs and automatically calculate derivatives.
TPUs are computer chips designed by Google specifically for AI systems. According to Google, TPUs are 15x to 30x faster than conventional Graphical Processing Units (GPUs)."
The point is to increase the speed of AI research.
From first glance, Microsoft seems to take on a more ethical approach in general. Google and FB also don't have the best track record as of late in this arena..
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/our-approach-to-ai"We believe you should have control of your data and the choice in the technology you use, and we hold firm to a set of core principles that are grounded in ethics, accountability, inclusion, and security. We continue to pave a path forward in the industry, while also building upon the decades of research we’ve conducted and the insights we’ve gathered."
Do you see this partnership as good or bad for AI innovation and our future? Will this force Microsoft and other tech companies to change their strategies?
