Molmo: Free And Open Source Alternatives To Tech Giants’ AI

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Ai2 has launched Molmo, a multimodal AI model family to rival industry leaders.
• Molmo is free, open source, and designed for easy local deployment.
• A public demo of Molmo is available for users to explore.

The Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) is a non-profit research organization based in Seattle. They have announced Molmo, a family of multimodal AI models. These models are designed to compete with offerings from tech giants like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, as reported by MIT Technology Review .

The term “multimodal” refers to the capability of handling various types of data, including text, images, audio, video, and even sensory information.

With the release of Molmo, Ai2 aims to provide an alternative that is not only free but also truly open source, as reported by TechCrunch (TC).

Among the Molmo models, the largest one has 72 billion parameters. Ai2 claims that this model can outperform OpenAI’s GPT-4o. GPT-4o is estimated to have over a trillion parameters. This performance comparison is based on tests that assess comprehension of images, charts, and documents, as reported by MIT Technology Review.

Ai2 attributes the success of Molmo to its innovative training methods, which prioritize high-quality data rather than relying on vast quantities.

Indeed, Ai2’s focus is on a more selective dataset, composed of just 600,000 carefully chosen images, minimizing inaccuracies commonly found in traditional models that utilize large datasets harvested from the internet, as noted by TC.

Ani Kembhavi, a senior director of research at Ai2, noted that this approach helps to reduce errors and confusion in AI outputs, as reported by MIT.

For those interested in exploring the model, a public demo is available that also can be accessed via mobile devices.

Importantly, Molmo is entirely free and open source, capable of running locally without the need for extensive computing resources. The intention behind this release is to empower developers and creators to build AI-driven applications and services without the necessity of obtaining permissions from or paying large tech corporations, as noted by TC.

“We’re targeting, researchers, developers, app developers, people who don’t know how to deal with these [large] models. A key principle in targeting such a wide range of audience is the key principle that we’ve been pushing for a while, which is: make it more accessible,” said Ali Farhadi, the CEO of Ai2.

He emphasized the organization’s commitment to accessibility, stating, “We’re releasing every single thing that we’ve done. This includes data, cleaning, annotations, training, code, checkpoints, evaluation. We’re releasing everything about it that we have developed.”

WIRED notes that creating effective AI agents requires reliable multimodal models. Enhancing reasoning abilities, as demonstrated by OpenAI’s o1 model , may be key to achieving this. The next challenge is integrating such reasoning into multimodal models.

This comprehensive approach aims to democratize access to advanced AI technologies, allowing a broader audience to innovate in this rapidly evolving field.

Image by Colin, from Wikimedia Commons

Cyber Attack Disrupts Wi-Fi At 20 Major UK Railway Stations

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• A cyber attack impacted 20 major railway stations across the UK.
• The attack targeted public Wi-Fi, displaying messages about terror attacks.
• The British Transport Police is investigating.

A cyber attack has affected 20 major railway stations in the UK, as reported today by the BBC . The attack targeted the public Wi-Fi systems at these stations, displaying a message claiming “We love you, Europe” and listing information about terror attacks.

The BBC reported that Network Rail confirmed Wi-Fi systems at stations including London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Edinburgh Waverley, and Glasgow Central were impacted.

A Network Rail spokesperson confirmed the Wi-Fi was still down, stating, “We are currently dealing with a cyber security incident affecting the public Wi-Fi at Network Rail’s managed stations,” as reported by the BBC.

The BBC noted that the British Transport Police is investigating and reported that other organizations, beyond just rail stations, have also been affected.

The affected stations include:

In London: Cannon Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria, and Waterloo. In the South East: Reading and Guildford. In the North West: Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street. In the West Midlands: Birmingham New Street. In West Yorkshire: Leeds. In the West and South West: Bristol Temple Meads. In Scotland: Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.

Alex Richards, director of Liberate IT Services, was among the cybersecurity experts commenting on the attack today, stated,

“Public wi-fi is always isolated and firewalled from any other network, so there will be no risk to data held or processed by Network Rail themselves. Public wi-fi is the easiest target due to its accessibility, and the most visible when tampered with.

The only potential danger is that anyone else using the public wi-fi at the time could have had their data snooped. This is where information being sent from or to your device on the public wi-fi is inspected and listened to.

This is why it is important to only use encrypted services on public wi-fi, or a VPN service using encryption. Better yet, stay clear of public wi-fi and use your 4G or 5G data service,” as reported by the Daily Mail .

The incident comes after a more disruptive cyberattack targeting Transport for London (TfL), which operates the capital’s bus, subway, and suburban train networks.

TfL reported that customer names, contact information, and possibly bank account details were exposed in the breach, which is now under investigation by the National Crime Agency.

In light of these incidents, the ongoing investigations underscore the critical need for enhanced cybersecurity measures across public networks.

As authorities work to address the fallout from these attacks, travelers are urged to remain vigilant and prioritize their online safety.

The ramifications of such cyber threats highlight the importance of protecting personal data and using secure connections, particularly in public spaces. Further updates will be provided as the situation develops.