Avala AI – a San Francisco-based AI company pioneering a radically different approach to ethical AI deployment – announced its official launch. And the company is revolutionizing how people can contribute to, develop, and benefit from AI with a collaborative marketplace of datasets, labelers, and models in an ecosystem of products and services that directly address the challenges of AI alignment. Avala delivers market-relevant upskilling and reliable income that can be learned and earned anywhere, anytime.
Avala’s People-first AI pledge promotes ethical AI on 2 fronts:
1.) Access for all – Avala sources and surfaces diverse datasets and provides tools to build, monitor, and calibrate AI models to align AI systems. And Avala opens the black box of AI with tools for transparency, offering free and open access to its platform for anyone to audit AI behavior.
2.) Economic opportunity for all – The Avala app connects people around the world to economic opportunity, opening the door for anyone to participate in the data engine that powers AI. And the Avala mobile app is a gateway for global communities to train in new skills, contribute to AI alignment tasks, and monetize micro-moments as Avala “Coworkers.”
Avala has been utilizing burgeoning technology to solve the disparities currently existing in AI’s capabilities. And as AI continues to be implemented in all that we do, it’s imperative that it works for all. Plus Avala is taking a more equitable approach to AI, developing a future for everyone to use AI tools, and eliminating the algorithmic biases that typically come with tools that don’t work well across BIPOC communities.
For researchers and developers, Avala’s comprehensive, open platform spans from data collection to fully hosted models. And it’s flagship product Mission Control caters to the entire AI Ops workflow, combining dataset curation and management, world-class expertise for data labeling and human feedback, and model training, verification, and deployment. Avala’s key value propositions are:
1.) Audit models with ease – Accessible transparency tools to audit the mechanics and trustworthiness of models. And Avala customers, the developer community, and the wider public can visualize the data behind models, identify and address biases, and recalibrate using model-assisted or human-in-the-loop labeling.
2.) Human feedback with ethical standards – Avala’s digital assembly line approach to labeling connects MLOps teams to Avala’s diverse and inclusive on-demand workforce of expert annotators and domain specialists. And human-in-the-loop intelligence is accelerated with pre-built and modular training, model-assisted tooling, and augmented human review, eliminating the pain points associated with the training, churn, and management of a human labeling workforce.
3.) Vertically integrated & fully managed – Integrations offer seamless routes into and out of the Avala ecosystem, ready-to-use templates mean annotation projects can be launched in minutes, and variable QC thresholds and logic-based triggers accelerate workflows without sacrificing quality.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Work Report predicted that while 75 million jobs would be lost to automation between 2018-2022, about 133 million will also be created. And Avala understands that the development of AI has the potential to bring about significant social and economic changes, and the company is committed to ensuring that these changes are positive and inclusive. Plus Avala’s open platform encourages diverse and inclusive participation in the curation, moderation, and alignment of AI systems.
Avala was founded in 2020 by Tesla Autopilot veteran Emal Alwis. And with $4.2 million raised to date, including a seed round led by MaC Venture Capital and Flybridge in April 2021, Avala’s mission is to connect people with transformative opportunities, directly addressing the issue of AI alignment. Plus by surfacing model problems and biases, and connecting customers to diverse datasets, model-assisted labeling tools, and a skilled and inclusive global workforce, Avala enables customers to ship better and safer models that can improve the lives of all people.
KEY QUOTES:
“Artificial intelligence may be the greatest tool humanity has ever created, providing us with incredible opportunities to make a lasting positive impact for all life on this planet. It has the potential to enable humanity to overcome many of the socioeconomic and geographic inequalities we face, within our lifetimes. So it is paramount that AI systems remain beneficial to humans and highly aligned with our values, principles, and objectives. We call this ‘People-first AI’, and if done right, it will usher the world into a new age of abundance.”
– Emal Alwis, Founder and CEO of Avala
“When technology seeks to ameliorate people’s lives, people must, in turn, play a role in shaping that very technology. Avala has built a disruptive platform that makes collecting data and training models much more accessible and transparent while passing forward the economic benefit. Most importantly, Avala puts everyday people at the heart and soul of AI—sharing the transformative opportunities of AI with humanity. We at MaC, are very eager to watch Avala continue to grow.”
– Michael Palank, General Partner at MaC Venture Capital
