Why do 7 Billion People Need Their Own AI?
Today we are pleased to announce the completion of our Series B funding of $17 M, raised in partnership with investors Mousse Partners, You & Mr.Jones, Founders Fund, Alpha Edison, Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone and others.
This capital infusion will enable us to scale our work at the AI Foundation. As we prepare for this next phase, I thought this would be a good time to share our goals and reflect on our progress thus far.
The AI Foundation’s mission is to bring the power and protection of AI to everyone so we may all participate fully in the future.
More than a purely commercial revenue-driven company, we’ve built a non-profit component that from inception has focused on bridging industry, academia, and philanthropy to spearhead global community efforts around sustainable AI, establishing datasets, tools, and models to ensure AI exists as a positive force in the world.
Our work with AI has resulted in unprecedented technological advancements, but unlike other breakthroughs, our goals aren’t solely fueled by growth and profit — we are building toward a better world with fully empowered people.
PERSONAL AI — A MIND FOR THE MIND
Many years ago I remember being struck by Steve Jobs talking about the efficiency of locomotion in a 1990 promo for the The Library of Congress. He showed how a human on a bicycle out-performed humans on foot.
Then he said something I have never forgotten: “The computer is the most remarkable tool we’ve ever come up with — it’s like a bicycle for the mind.” This was a revelation for me and I found myself saying, “In time, AI could be a mind for the mind.”
Computing power has pushed humanity to the edge of its capacity. As the digital realm drives more and more of our experiences, communications, economic value, and social capital, we will need to move beyond computing toward this concept of a “Mind for our Minds.”
With personal AI, everyone can extend their purpose and effectiveness in the world, amplifying their voice to reach unlimited people and to share their knowledge with humanity.
There are so many use cases for extending the power of one-to-one conversation to one-to-many:
- legacy: retaining one’s forever presence in the world
- presence: be in a billion places at once
- access: interact and connect with people you could never dream of meeting today
- self-improvement: personal coaching and mentoring from world-class experts — wherever you are
- entertainment: be part of movies, games and more
OWNING YOUR AI
AI is here — but (almost) all of it is owned by big tech giants or government-based organizations. It isn’t sustainable to leave something as important as AI to the few.
In order to participate fully in the future, people need ownership of their own AI. This is why we are committed to making the world’s first personal AI platform available to everyone.
With our platform, each of us can create, monitor, and train our own AIs. This AI looks, sounds, and thinks like you, learns everything about you, and stays in sync through dynamic mapping — ongoing conversation. Think of it as your “4th Brain,” a mind for your mind, that extends beyond your three existing brain functions: instincts, awareness, and consciousness — taking your purpose, voice, and ideas further in the world.
We know that AI will unlock massive value for corporations and governments, but we believe it is essential that the benefits of AI are accessible to all. Only then can we see true diversity and equality.
TRAINING YOUR AI
Our platform is based on our unique training process, a dynamic mapping of your current biological brain via a custom conversational Q&A with your AI. Your AI asks you questions and listens carefully to your replies, adding context, reference and depth to its knowledge base.
Conversation becomes the link between your biological and digital (4th) brain.
This seamless process enables your AI to create its cognition and knowledge base, while continuously learning your voice, thought process, emotions, and beliefs. Over time it retains, enhances, and carries forward your memories and experiences.
As a remarkably life-like, photorealistic version of you (or the visual representation of your choice), your own AI improves the more you connect and spend time with it.
It synthesizes your voice and delivers your speaking patterns with fidelity. Over time, your AI starts to comprehend how you see the world, learning your personality and echoing your emotional states as they emerge, becoming your “forever” legacy.
PROTECTING US ALL
There is a caveat to all this — and something we take incredibly seriously. The best minds need to come together and establish sustainable AI for all — to ensure AI does not cause harm to people or society. A core part of our work is forging partnerships to create communities (to break research siloes), facilitating research to redress potential harm to humanity, delivering concrete tools and solutions.
AI is a powerful force. Let’s make sure it’s a force for good. Because, in the end, who can we trust?
We believe the only AI you can really trust is your own. For the rest, we need proper detection tools and for everyone to understand and be able to counteract the inherent problems in emerging technology, like deep fakes and their impact on democratic structures.
To this end, we are committed to ensuring AI, in all its powerful forms, is developed to enable advancements by being put safely into the hands of everyone. By making our platform available to all, we drive a future that learns from the past and delivers personal and collective responsibility for the greater good.
DIGITAL DEEPAK: A PROOF OF CONCEPT
You may have seen Dr. Deepak Chopra present his own AI (aka: “Digital Deepak”) on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”. Our platform powered that AI in partnership with Dr. Chopra. Why?
Dr. Chopra wanted a way to extend his mission in life: “to empower personal transformation for our collective well-being by providing tools, guidance and community anchored in wisdom, traditions and cutting-edge science for mind, body, & spirit.”
But there’s only one (human) Deepak — but limited, as we all are, by biological constraints.
In contrast, “Digital Deepak” can go anywhere, talk to anyone, share his passions and causes, meditate with millions, answer questions, give speeches, gather information in the world and bring it back to Dr. Chopra himself.
Next steps.
As you can see, we’ve done a lot in just under three years. Which is why our investors are backing us with this Series B round, allowing us to take our platform to the other 7 billion people on the planet.
If you’re curious about developing your own AI, there’s a growing waitlist — but do join us. We will release more information on how to get involved as soon as we can in the coming months.
