Behind the Scenes of Ed Craven's Million-Dollar Wager on Australia's Counterpart to OpenAI
In a significant move towards AI development, a new initiative called JoeyLLM is set to create Australia's first sovereign Large Language Model (LLM). Led by a community-driven group named southern-cross-ai, this project aims to build a foundational language model that reflects Australian national characteristics [1].
The development of JoeyLLM is an "onshore" initiative, meaning it will be built within Australia to maintain control over the AI's data and design [1]. While the specific city or institutional affiliations are not yet clear, the initiative is a multi-million dollar investment, driven by a privately-owned and sovereignly-funded company, MainCode [5].
Ed Craven, a billionaire investor, is the majority shareholder in MainCode. Dave Lemphers, a world-class technologist and AI expert, is leading the charge at MainCode. Lemphers, who previously worked at Microsoft, PWC, and Techstars in the US, returned to Australia in 2019 to lead MainCode, a sovereign AI startup in Melbourne [6].
Lemphers believes the time is ripe to capitalize on AI as a hyper-value-add technology. He sees the opportunity to lead a homegrown LLM into a new industrial revolution for Australia, similar to the mining boom [7]. The goal is to create a secure and transparent way for Australians to access the power of LLMs without relying on overseas platforms [2].
MainCode's research indicates that sensitive commercial, operational, and customer data is increasingly being fed into foreign-owned LLMs like ChatGPT. By developing JoeyLLM, MainCode aims to provide Australians with a choice to use AI systems built with local values, under local laws, and designed to serve local interests [2].
Lemphers wants Australians to have access to safe, managed, and sovereign AI tools, preventing them from being forced to depend on foreign APIs or risky, ungoverned RAG pipelines. The project also aims to create an environment for Australia's best emerging AI talent [8].
The team at MainCode includes Dr Amanda Baughan, Dr Fabian Waschkowski, Dr Lukas Wesemann, and Dr Sara E. Rodríguez Gómez [8]. As the development of JoeyLLM continues, more details about the project and its progress are expected to be shared.
The risks of relying on overseas platforms include data privacy concerns and potential for "invisible model contamination" due to embedded bias or toxic training data. By developing JoeyLLM, MainCode is taking a proactive step towards protecting both the public and the commercial fabric of Australia's AI future.
[1] https://github.com/southern-cross-ai/joeyllm [2] https://www.maincode.ai/blog/joeyllm-australias-first-sovereign-large-language-model [3] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-01/australian-ai-startup-aims-to-build-first-sovereign-language/13205444 [4] https://www.innovationaus.gov.au/news/australian-researchers-develop-world-first-artificial-intelligence-model [5] https://www.maincode.ai/about [6] https://www.linkedin.com/in/davelemhers/ [7] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-01/australian-ai-startup-aims-to-build-first-sovereign-language/13205444 [8] https://www.maincode.ai/team
- Ed Craven, the majority shareholder in MainCode, which is driving the JoeyLLM initiative, sees an opportunity to capitalize on artificial-intelligence technology and lead a homegrown Large Language Model (LLM) into a new industry revolution for Australia, similar to the mining boom.
- By developing JoeyLLM, MainCode, a sovereign AI startup in Melbourne, aims to provide Australians with a choice to use AI systems built with local values, under local laws, and designed to serve local interests, instead of relying on overseas platforms that could potentially pose risks such as data privacy concerns and invisible model contamination.
- Dave Lemphers, a world-class technologist and AI expert involved in the JoeyLLM project, previously worked at companies like Microsoft, PWC, and Techstars in the US, but returned to Australia in 2019 to lead MainCode, with the goal of creating a secure and transparent way for Australians to access the power of LLMs without relying on foreign-owned models.
