Why a Nation Can't Outsource Its Frontier AI - Alistair Pullen (Cosine AI)
Sovereign AI developmentLLM training costsModel architecture designReinforcement learningAI coding agentsSynthetic data generationAI ethics and qualityGeopolitics of AI
Alistair Pullen, CEO of Cosine, discusses the UK's initiative to build a sovereign large language model (LLM) in response to US export controls on frontier AI like Fable. He explains Cosine's strategy to compete with larger labs by focusing on efficient model architecture, advanced data curation, and innovative reinforcement learning techniques, leveraging the Isambard supercomputer. The conversation also delves into the challenges of AI-generated code quality, the evolving role of agentic harnesses, and the importance of synthetic data generation.