LFN teams with Infosys on two new AI projects

• Open-source powerhouse Linux Foundation Networking (LFN) is hosting its latest Open Networking and Edge Summit in London
• As you’d expect, AI has featured in the agenda
• To advance its own AI efforts, LFN has formed two new networking projects that will be underpinned by code contributions from Infosys

Open Networking and Edge Summit – LONDON – IT services and systems integration giant Infosys has teamed up with Linux Foundation Networking (LFN) for the formation of two new networking projects that will focus on the development of domain-specific and responsible AI for the networking sector. 

Infosys has contributed its Responsible AI Toolkit and AI application development framework, part of its Topaz AI offerings, to the new projects, dubbed Salas and Essedum. 

Salus “offers advanced technical guardrails to detect and mitigate AI risks like bias, privacy breaches, and harmful content, while enhancing model transparency,” according to LFN, and will be underpinned by Infosys’s Responsible AI Toolkit. Its work will include the development of APIs related to security, privacy, explainability, safety,  and fairness and bias. It will be customisable and designed to be integrated across cloud and on-premises platforms to support diverse AI models and agentic AI systems.  

Essedum, meanwhile, will use Infosys’s AI application development framework to “accelerate the integration of AI data, models, and applications within the networking industry”. It will also make use of several existing LFN activities, namely Thoth (data anonymisation) from the Anuket project, the AI Task Force (data sharing platform initiative), and the AI Framework seed code. Essedum covers a number of “essential layers for building AI-powered networking applications”, including data sharing and preprocessing, domain-specific AI tools and pipelines and an AI application building framework. 

Mohammed Rafee Tarafdar, CTO at Infosys, stated that the company is “deeply committed to advancing innovation that solves complex challenges while upholding transparency, fairness, and trust… With our strong AI capabilities, powered by Infosys Topaz, we actively support this endeavor, helping organisations harness domain-specific AI responsibly and effectively across global networks.” 

Arpit Joshipura, general manager for networking, edge and IoT at the Linux Foundation, added: “Our efforts to further domain-specific AI are coming to fruition with the addition of these new projects and we are incredibly grateful to Infosys for their contributions. Creating combined, open and unified frameworks will only accelerate AI-driven innovation. By introducing accessible solutions for Responsible AI and integrating data sharing, domain-specific AI tools, and application development under one roof, we are enabling the industry to build smarter, more efficient networks,” he added.

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV