Image: Alexandra Institute.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs has granted 30,7 million DKK to the Danish Foundation Models (DFM), a pioneering initiative in the field of machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) dedicated to the Danish language. The mission of DFM is to develop, maintain, and provide open access to high-quality foundation models tailored for Danish, promoting innovation and inclusivity in language technologies. The project is the result of a collaboration between Syddansk and Aarhus Universitet and the Alexandra institute.
Thanks to the close collaboration in the DeiC Interactive HPC/UCloud consortium, and in particular Professor at Center for Humanities Computing, AU, Kristoffer Nielbo, UCloud will be one of the providers of supercomputing infrastructure for the project:
“UCloud is the preferred platform for collaboration, development, and deployment. The platform drives secure and context-sensitive AI research and development,” says Prof. Kristoffer Nielbo.
Figure from DFM. UCloud’s role in the project will be to:
- provide supercomputing power;
- enable secure data and model sharing with external partners, including industry labs and research institutions;
- support sensitive data handling and regulatory compliance, essential for protected data applications;
- enable the development of culturally and linguistically aligned Danish models with patient data confidentiality in mind.
“We are very pleased that the Danish Foundation Model consortium has chosen to use UCloud as their primary platform for development and deployment. We are proud of the successful collaboration with DFM in the past years and we look forward to continuing in the future” says Professor at Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and Director of SDU eScience Center, Claudio Pica.
SDU participation
From the SDU side, Professor at Mathematics and Computer Science, Peter Schneider-Kamp, is part of the core team:
“It is fantastic news that Denmark, through this investment in Danish Foundation Models, is committing to an inclusive and ethically responsible approach to artificial intelligence. Language models are particularly fascinating, as basic research rarely comes this close to creating societal value. Breakthroughs in foundational research, whether by improving the models themselves or making them more energy-efficient, have a direct impact on their practical applications,” explains Prof. Peter Schneider-Kamp (source IMADA).
Learn more about the government’s full strategy towards AI here: https://www.digmin.dk/digitalisering/nyheder/nyhedsarkiv/2024/dec/ny-strategisk-indsats-skal-bane-vej-for-kunstig-intelligens-i-danmark
And read up on the Danish Foundation Models (DFM) project: https://www.foundationmodels.dk
We are very honored and excited to support this innovative initiative!
