Spanish PM announces creation of AI language model in Spanish and Catalan
Barcelona Supercomputing Center will collaborate to develop 'open and transparent' code
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez announced the creation of a new artificial intelligence (AI) language model specifically trained in Spanish and other official languages, such as Catalan.
The new Large Language Model (LLM), a type of AI program that can recognize and generate text, will be "transparent and open."
Sánchez made the announcement during his opening speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Sunday night, along with Spanish King Felipe VI, Catalan president Pere Aragonès, and Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni.
The new AI model will be developed jointly by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
"We expect Spain to play a decisive role in the development of AI," said Sánchez. He has also called for "a profound reflection on the impact of this technology on society, rights, freedoms and democracy, as well as on the labour market and the design of public policies".
Sánchez, the King and Aragonès visited the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, the first day of the event. The world's largest mobile technology convention is expected to draw 95,000 visitors between Monday and Thursday this week.