Bulgaria is among the few countries worldwide where a public institution, not a private company, creates a system for sovereign artificial intelligence and makes it available for use by all citizens, said Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) founder Prof. Martin Vechev, who presented the new generation national Bulgarian language model BgGPT 3.0 on Thursday.

The presentation took place at Synergy Tower in Sofia Tech Park. Participants also included INSAIT Executive Director Borislav Petrov, and the researcher Anton Alexandrov.

“One of the greatest challenges that every country must address today is building its own sovereign national artificial intelligence, which ensures full independence from foreign states, foreign sources and foreign providers,” said Vechev, noting that the Institute has successfully accomplished this task.

Compared to previous versions, BgGPT 3.0 can handle more complex and specific tasks. The new version includes voice recognition, text and image processing, internet search, as well as new mobile applications for Android and iOS. During the presentation, the platform’s capabilities were demonstrated, including solving tasks from the 12th grade matriculation exam and recognising images.

Vechev highlighted that BgGPT 3.0 has already been implemented in key public institutions, including the National Revenue Agency and the National Audit Office. The platform is available free of charge to all Bulgarian citizens, and he expressed hope that in the future more institutions and private companies will take advantage of the new model. “The more citizens and institutions use the platform, the better and more independent it will become,” he added.

On January 15, 2024, INSAIT at Sofia University presented BgGPT – the first open large-scale artificial intelligence language model of the latest generation, created for the Bulgarian state, for users, and for public and private organisations.