SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Wednesday released new artificial intelligence (AI) models that outside developers potentially can fashion as their own, following a similar move by Meta Platforms and others.
The Alphabet subsidiary said individuals and businesses can build AI software based on its new family of “open models” called Gemma, for free. The company is making key technical data such as what are called model weights publicly available, it said.
The move may attract software engineers to build on Google’s technology and encourage usage of its newly profitable cloud division. The models are “optimized” for Google Cloud, where first-time cloud customers using them get $300 in credits, the company said.
Google stopped short of making Gemma fully “open source,” meaning the company still may have a hand in setting terms of use and ownership. Some experts have said open-source AI was ripe for abuse, while others have championed the approach for widening the set of people who can contribute to and benefit from the technology.
With the announcement, Google did not make its bigger, premier models known as Gemini open, unlike Gemma. It said the Gemma models are sized at two billion or seven billion parameters — or the number of different values that an algorithm takes into account to generate output.
Meta’s Llama 2 models range from seven to 70 billion parameters in size. Google has not disclosed the size of its largest Gemini models. For comparison, OpenAI’s GPT-3 model announced in 2020 had 175 billion parameters.
Chipmaker Nvidia on Wednesday said it has worked with Google to ensure Gemma models run smoothly on its chips. Nvidia also said it will soon make chatbot software, which it is developing to run AI models on Windows PCs, work with Gemma.
Google releases ‘open’ AI models after Meta
https://arab.news/8ux4q
Google releases ‘open’ AI models after Meta
- Individuals and businesses can build AI software based on Google’s new family of “open models” called Gemma, for free
TikTok names 2025 MENA Awards nominees ahead of Dubai ceremony
- Awards celebrate 66 creators across 11 categories, spanning food, sport, education, entertainment, fashion, and beauty
- Ceremony will take place during the 1 Billion Followers Summit on Jan. 8
LONDON: TikTok has announced the nominees for its 2025 MENA Awards, an annual showcase of the creators, trends and cultural moments that shaped the region’s online conversation over the past year.
For the first time, the awards will be held in Dubai during the 1 Billion Followers Summit in January, which is one of the world’s largest gatherings of digital creators.
“We’re proud to celebrate the return of the TikTok Awards in MENA, a moment dedicated to spotlighting the remarkable creativity emerging from our region and the creators who continue to inspire creativity and bring joy to millions every day,” Kinda Ibrahim, regional general manager of operations, TikTok Middle East, Africa, South and Central Asia, said.
This year’s TikTok Awards MENA will highlight 66 creators across 11 categories, spanning food, sport, education, entertainment, fashion, and beauty, alongside four cross-cutting prizes: Creator of the Year, Visionary Content Award, Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Changemaker of the Year.
TikTok said the shortlisted accounts reflect how MENA creators drove global conversations in 2025, from viral sounds and challenges to issue-based campaigns and long-form storytelling that traveled beyond the region’s borders.
The platform said the awards are an opportunity to recognize creators whose work has helped define the platform’s mix of humor, lifestyle, music, and social commentary in Arabic and other languages.
The ceremony will also include performances by regional artists whose tracks have underpinned major TikTok trends this year, with the full lineup due to be confirmed later in December.
A full list of nominees is available on TikTok MENA channel. Public voting for the awards is now open and runs until Dec. 23, with winners set to be announced at the summit on Jan. 8.
