OpenAI and the Maltese government have announced a world-first partnership to roll out ChatGPT Plus to all Maltese citizens, marking the first time the government has entered into such an agreement with an AI company.
Under the program, citizens who complete a government-backed artificial intelligence literacy course will receive free access to ChatGPT Plus for one year, OpenAI announced on Saturday. The course, developed by the University of Malta, covers what artificial intelligence is, what it can and can’t do and how to use it responsibly at home and in the workplace.
“Malta is the first country to launch a partnership of this scale because we refuse to allow our citizens to be left behind in the digital age,” said the Maltese Minister of Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri, adding that the aim is to transform AI “from an unknown concept into a practical help for our families, students and workers.”
The Malta Digital Innovation Authority will manage the distribution to eligible participants when the first phase starts this month, and the program will expand as more residents and citizens abroad complete the course.
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OpenAI partners with governments around the world
The deal is the latest in OpenAI’s broader OpenAI for Countries initiative, through which the company works with governments to move from early interest in artificial intelligence to adoption at the national level. Unlike a standardized model, the program is tailored to each country’s priorities, including areas such as education, workforce training and public services.
Last year, OpenAI joined together with the Estonian government to give all secondary school students and teachers access to ChatGPT Ed, a customized version of ChatGPT built for education systems. The company also has launched “OpenAI for Greece” in partnership with the Greek government.
As reported by Cointelegraph, OpenAI has also struck a deal with the US Department of Defense to deploy its AI models on classified military networks.
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