UAE's G42 Launches Open Source Arabic Language AI Model

UAE's flag - Reuters
UAE's flag - Reuters
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UAE's G42 Launches Open Source Arabic Language AI Model

UAE's flag - Reuters
UAE's flag - Reuters

A group of engineers, researchers and a Silicon Valley-based chip company collaborated to release advanced Arabic language software that can power generative AI applications.

The new large language model called Jais contains 13 billion parameters that was made from a big batch of data combining Arabic and English, a portion of which is from computer code. The group, which included academics and engineers embarked, on the project in part because they said there are few large language models that are bilingual.

The new language model was created with the help of supercomputers produced by the Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems, which designs dinner plate-sized chips that compete with Nvidia's powerful AI hardware. Nvidia's chips are in short supply, which has driven companies around the world to seek alternatives, Reuters reported.

Named after the highest peak in the United Arab Emirates, Jais is a collaboration between Cerebras, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based tech conglomerate G42 called Inception, which focuses on AI.

Because there is not enough Arabic data to train a model of Jais' size, the computer code within the English language data helped train the model's ability to reason, according to Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence professor Timothy Baldwin.

"(Code) gives the model a big leg up in terms of reasoning abilities, because it spells out the (logical) steps," Baldwin told Reuters.

Jais will be available via an open source license.

The group trained the Jais model on a Cerebras' supercomputer called a Condor Galaxy. This year Cerebras announced it had sold three such units to G42, with the first scheduled to arrive this year and the remaining units to be delivered in 2024.



Indonesia Volcano Belches Six-mile Ash Tower

This handout photo taken and released on August 1, 2025 by Indonesia's Geological Agency shows Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewing lava and volcanic ash up to approximately 10 kilometers high during its eruption as observed from the monitoring post in East Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province. (Indonesia's Geological Agency / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released on August 1, 2025 by Indonesia's Geological Agency shows Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewing lava and volcanic ash up to approximately 10 kilometers high during its eruption as observed from the monitoring post in East Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province. (Indonesia's Geological Agency / AFP)
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Indonesia Volcano Belches Six-mile Ash Tower

This handout photo taken and released on August 1, 2025 by Indonesia's Geological Agency shows Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewing lava and volcanic ash up to approximately 10 kilometers high during its eruption as observed from the monitoring post in East Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province. (Indonesia's Geological Agency / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released on August 1, 2025 by Indonesia's Geological Agency shows Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewing lava and volcanic ash up to approximately 10 kilometers high during its eruption as observed from the monitoring post in East Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province. (Indonesia's Geological Agency / AFP)

An Indonesian volcano spewed a 10-kilometre (6.2-miles) molten plume of ash topped by lightning into the Friday night sky, weeks after another huge eruption triggered dozens of flight cancellations in Bali.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584-metre-high volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted at 20:48 pm (1248 GMT), the volcanology agency said in a statement.

"The height of the eruption column was observed to be approximately 10,000 meters above the summit," the agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.

The eruption was triggered by a gas buildup in recent weeks, geological agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement.

He also warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods -- a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials -- if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities near rivers.

Tourists and residents were told to avoid a six-kilometer radius around the crater.

Pictures shared by the country's geological agency showed volcanic lightning near the top of the ash plume.

Last month, the volcano spewed a colossal 18-kilometer tower of ash, scrapping 24 flights at Bali’s international airport.

There were no immediate reports of cancelled flights after Friday’s eruption.

Laki-Laki, which means man in Indonesian, is twinned with the calmer but taller 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) volcano named Perempuan, after the Indonesian word for woman.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".