Portugal's Ambitious AI Program: A Homegrown Solution to Linguistic Sovereignty

Introduction to the AI Program

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) program announced by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro during the Web Summit 2024 aims to establish a large-scale language model (LLM) in Portuguese. This initiative will be executed by a collaborative consortium of research centers linked to Lisbon universities, specifically the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Nova and the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon, in coordination with the Foundation for Science and Technology and the Center for Responsible AI.

Objectives and Goals

Montenegro revealed this program on the main stage of the Web Summit, emphasizing its goal to mitigate the "serious risks" associated with relying on foreign LLMs. The Portuguese government highlighted concerns regarding cultural representativity and the ability to differentiate between Portuguese language variants, particularly the European variant.

Financial Aspects

While the government has shared the initiative's significance, details regarding its cost, funding, and availability remain undisclosed. Efforts to obtain information from the Ministry of Youth and Administrative Modernization have not been successful.

Understanding LLMs

An LLM functions similarly to a neural network, learning from vast amounts of data to enable users to interact with it through a visual interface. For example, it can suggest the next word while composing an email or even draft entire messages based on user input.

Benefits of the Portuguese LLM

The government asserts that the Portuguese LLM will empower citizens, businesses, public administration, and academia with AI solutions that respect the sovereignty of the Portuguese language, along with its historical nuances and cultural heritage. It draws parallels with Spain's development of a similar LLM aimed at preserving cultural and linguistic diversity.

Future Prospects

Although some media outlets have referred to the initiative as a "Portuguese ChatGPT", the government has clarified that it seeks a solution that is accessible, autonomous, and user-friendly. This model will be available for download and local use or through integration with other services, allowing it to be combined with foreign LLMs to ensure the generation of reliable content about Portugal, preserving the specifics of its language, history, and culture.