IBM Unveils Watsonx, a New AI Platform Including Generative Models

IBM has announced its latest AI platform, Watsonx, which features a set of tools to build or deploy machine learning models, and support for training data to improve algorithms and fine-tune AI models. Watsonx is based on on-premises and cloud computing to provide a flexible framework that can be scaled up as required, and currently features seven pre-trained AI models, available through IBM's partnership with startup Hugging Face, in areas including natural language processing (NLP), geospatial data, and code generation. According to IBM, Watsonx offers “cost-effective infrastructure” and eliminates the need for a large organization and team to bring AI innovation. The company also unveiled its new suite of AI apps: Watsonx.data, a "fit-for-purpose" data store designed for both governed data and AI workloads, and Watsonx.governance, a toolkit that provides mechanisms to protect customer privacy, detect model bias and drift, and help organizations meet ethics standards.