AI Singapore (AISG) has signed a deal with IBM to collaborate on the testing of SEA-LION (Southeast Asian Languages in One Network) model, an open-sourced large language model (LLM) that is more representative of Southeast Asia’s cultural contexts and linguistic nuances.
IBM plans to help evaluate and enhance the LLM through its business-centered generative AI platform, Watsonx.
It will also incorporate the model into its AI use case library Digital Self-Serve Co-Create Experience(DSCE) to allow data scientists, developers, and engineers to explore localised generative AI to accelerate their work.
AISG's senior director of AI Products, Dr. Leslie Teo, said the collaboration is a testament to the significance of public and private partnerships and would continue working with IBM to expand the adoption of SEA-LION across various use cases.
AISG will also get access to technical assistance from IBM to help improve Sea-Lion.
“IBM will leverage its extensive business and technology ecosystem to help ASEAN organisations and citizens realise the value that custom models like Sea-Lion, as well as Watsonx, brings,” said Catherine Lian, general manager at IBM ASEAN.
The partners are also set to integrate AI governance into Sea-Lion to help businesses manage AI compliance, risk management and model lifecycle management amid growing regulations on the use of the technology.
AISG has recently partnered Google Research in March to enhance datasets that can be used to train and fine-tune SEA-LION.
As a specific use case, the project is working to improve communications with under-represented populations of migrant workers in Singapore, who may speak and understand a variety of regional languages with greater fluency than English.
AISG hopes the data collection efforts to better capture linguistic nuances within this community will provide the foundation for enhanced engagement by both the Singapore Government and employers.
