We are pleased to announce that code assistance features are now available to all Colab users, including those on free plans. Individuals in eligible areas can now experience AI-powered code assistance in Colab.
Colab was initially developed by a small team at Google Research with the vision of offering a better way to collaborate and iterate in the realm of machine learning. It has since grown to attract over 10 million monthly active users, including millions of students globally, positioning it as Google’s largest AI-enabled coding tool. Colab grants developers effortless access to robust computing resources at no cost, eliminating the need to install or manage any software. With seamless integration with Google Drive, it serves as one of the easiest ways to dive into programming with Python.
Making Machine Learning Accessible Worldwide
Colab’s primary goal is to broaden access to advanced computational resources for users across the globe, offering access to TPUs and NVIDIA GPUs free of charge. Typically, these resources are costly and out of reach for many developers and researchers worldwide, restricting their ability to pursue their projects. By granting access to computing power and providing AI-assisted coding features, Colab ensures that all users, from seasoned professionals to students, can learn, develop, and explore machine learning and AI. This initiative is in line with our longstanding commitment to offering access to AI development tools to users and teams worldwide.
We recently paid a visit to the HausaNLP team in Kano, Nigeria to gain insights into how they leverage Colab in their mission to democratize access to AI. The team’s focus is on research to enhance the representation of the 300+ languages spoken in Nigeria in LLMs (large language models). Without this representation, it is nearly impossible to construct effective and inclusive AI.
