AI sovereignty through Open Source Innovation
This keynote addresses the vital need for AI sovereignty, emphasizing the importance of developing independent AI technologies in a landscape dominated by major tech corporations. The talk highlights the role of open-source ecosystems in democratizing AI development, fostering innovation, and ensuring control over these critical technologies. We introduce xHub's flagship open-source AI project, l3arbi, as a testament to our commitment to community-driven AI advancement.
Speaker(s)
Faissal Boutaounte
Head of Engineering at X-Hub
CTO and head of engineering at x-Hub.io, with over 16 years of IT experience. In 2010, I co-founded the first developer community in Morocco: MoroccoJUG. Two years later, I co-founded the JMaghreb conference, which became the largest developer conference in the Middle East and Africa. JMaghreb was rebranded in 2015 when we joined the Devoxx franchise, solidifying its position as the most prestigious developer conference in the MEA region.
I also played a role in creating the Java Wave community in Quebec City, Canada, where I lived for nine years. During my time there, I spoke at multiple local events.
My interest in the AI world began in 2017 when we built a semantic search engine for Canada's largest research funding organization. This engine utilized word2vec to create embeddings, long before the emergence of vector databases. I'm also the creator of "l3arbi," an AI assistant that understands the Moroccan dialect.
Throughout my career, I've contributed to various open-source projects including the JSF Mojarra implementation, JSR 346, and Reactivemongo. I was also honored as the Outstanding Adopt-a-JSR Participant at the 11th JCP Annual Awards.