UAE Launches Jais: World’s Best Arabic AI Software Pushing Gulf’s Adoption of Generative AI
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has unveiled Jais, an open-source Arabic artificial intelligence (AI) software that is being hailed as the highest-quality Arabic AI software in the world. This significant development comes as the UAE aims to lead the Gulf region in the adoption and advancement of generative AI technologies.
Jais, a large language model (LLM), is the result of a collaboration between G42, an AI company chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser; Abu Dhabi‘s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI); and Cerebras, an AI company based in California.
This launch demonstrates the UAE’s commitment to harnessing the power of generative AI. The country, along with Saudi Arabia, has been acquiring thousands of high-performance Nvidia chips required for AI software, as the global demand for these chips skyrockets.
Previously, the UAE developed Falcon, another open-source LLM, using more than 300 Nvidia chips. With the collaboration between Cerebras and G42, nine supercomputers will be provided, solidifying their position as a potential rival to Nvidia.
Andrew Jackson, CEO of Inception, an AI applied research unit of G42, highlighted the significance of embracing AI technologies, stating, The UAE has been a pioneer in this space (AI). We see this as a global race. Most LLMs are English-focused. Arabic is one of the largest languages in the world. Why shouldn’t the Arabic-speaking community have an LLM?
While the UAE’s focus on AI leadership is commendable, concerns have been raised about the potential misuse of this technology by autocratic leaders in oil-rich states.
Jais boasts better performance than Falcon and other open-source models when it comes to accuracy in Arabic. Additionally, it has been designed to have a more nuanced understanding of the culture and context of the region, setting it apart from US-centric models. Professor Timothy Baldwin, acting provost of MBZUAI, assured that guardrails have been implemented to ensure Jais remains within reasonable cultural and religious bounds.
Extensive testing was conducted prior to the launch to remove any harmful, sensitive, offensive, or inappropriate content. This process ensured that Jais aligns with the values of the organizations involved in its development.
Named after the highest mountain in the UAE, Jais was trained over 21 days on a subset of Cerebras’s Condor Galaxy 1 AI supercomputer. Launch partners, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Mubadala Wealth Fund, and Etihad Airways, have joined forces with G42 to utilize this groundbreaking technology.
Training the model presented challenges due to the scarcity of high-quality Arabic language data compared to English. Jais tackles this by incorporating modern standard Arabic, as well as various spoken dialects from the region, drawing on media, social media, and code.
According to Professor Baldwin, Jais surpasses existing models in Arabic and exhibits competitive performance, or even slight superiority, in English across different tasks.
The launch of Jais marks a significant milestone in the field of Arabic AI software. By prioritizing advancements in generative AI, the UAE is paving the way for the Gulf region’s adoption and utilization of these cutting-edge technologies. With Jais offering the Arabic-speaking community access to a high-quality LLM, the UAE solidifies its position as a global leader in the AI race.
