Apple joined Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and IBM in an Artificial Intelligence (AI) research group formed last year to advance public appreciation of the technology.

In a statement released by the Partnership on AI group, Apple was confirmed as its sixth founding member. It said the company had been involved and collaborated with the partnership even before it was launched in September 2016.

The non-profit alliance said it was open to academics, other non profits and specialists in policy and ethics to join the effort, and Apple has now formalised its membership.

The organisation aims to establish best practices for the opportunities and challenges within the field of AI. The companies said they would also team to address issues including privacy, interoperability and collaboration between people and AI systems.

While Apple was an early adopter of AI with its Siri virtual assistant, which it embedded in iPhones since 2011, the vendor lost ground to rivals Google and Amazon in developing the technology further, Bloomberg noted. Apple also faces competition from Samsung, which announced in November it would include an AI-powered assistant in future flagship smartphones.

Taking part in the group is also a sign Apple is no longer so secretive. A lot of research work on AI is typically published, with the goal of developing the technology for wider use cases in mind.

The alliance talked up its desire for the technology to improve many aspects of people’s lives, from healthcare, education and home automation, while curbing concerns about the negative impact AI could have on humanity as a whole.

In early January, tech leaders including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and Omidyar Network, a non-profit investment company set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, established the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, to focus on the ethical and humanitarian impact of the technology.