Hello, we are willing to have the version 4,5, so I researched informations about AI. I want to know if it's totally free to use the providers AI (Azure ou Open AI) to generate text or image, or every prompt will create a bill ?
Moodle code is Free/Libre under the GPL. Anything you access outside of moodle will have its own terms and conditions, which change according to their busines decisions. Azure and OpenAI (for many purposes the same thing) publish their prices/publicly and there is generally a financial cost. See my recent response that touches on this.
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=466024#p1870813
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=466024#p1870813
Thank you so much for answering. In fact, I confused because there is always a free version of AI, like Open AI free plan, why there is a fee for the prompts on Moodle ? Its about having a connector ?
It is nothing to do with Moodle, Moodle just provides the code that connects to an outside service. OpenAI charge for connecting via their API. This would be true of any other system comparable with Moodle.
Be aware that if you are not paying financially for a service you will be paying in some other way such as giving up some privacy or data.
Be aware that if you are not paying financially for a service you will be paying in some other way such as giving up some privacy or data.
What's bad in the case of Azure is that even if you have a fairly high institutional licence with Microsoft, and can use their Copilot 365 service as much as you want, the API is not included in the package - last time I had a chance to look 
I suppose that must be part of their business contract with OpenAI.
Can anyone confirm?
I suppose that must be part of their business contract with OpenAI.
Can anyone confirm?
Are there any advantages of using Azure over OpenAI?.
I was hoping cost would be an advantage, since my university licences Azure.
Plus Copilot offers enterprise security: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/enterprise-data-protection .
However, there appears to be no API for Copilot (that I have seen).
And any API's shown within / via Azure require additional payment at least in the case of the OpenAI extension.
I'll revisit the Azure config panel again soon to see if there have been any changes.
Plus Copilot offers enterprise security: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/enterprise-data-protection .
However, there appears to be no API for Copilot (that I have seen).
And any API's shown within / via Azure require additional payment at least in the case of the OpenAI extension.
I'll revisit the Azure config panel again soon to see if there have been any changes.
OpenAI burns billions of dollars and there was always a doubt as to its ability to turn a profit of any sort. Even if you pay for your api access they are effectively paying you for the service. as they make a big loss on each query.
The recent changes in hardware and software put further doubt on the ability of these companies to make a profit. It doesn't surprise me that they are attempting to charge for some of their services.
The recent changes in hardware and software put further doubt on the ability of these companies to make a profit. It doesn't surprise me that they are attempting to charge for some of their services.
I think it's vitally important to not conflate "Open AI on Azure" with "Copilot(s").
Copilot(s) are the realisation of an AI agent for particular tasks, whilst Open AI on Azure is "simply" access to an LLM (and most likely serves to underpin the Copilots as well).
They serve 2 very different purposes, and are not interchangable things. The Enterprise Data Protection is primarily against *Copilot*, not Open AI on Azure.
In terms of advantages, it's the walled garden aspect (even though you're having to pay extra to use the Open AI API) in that you're institution has gone through a procurement process with MS, and it can all be "rolled into the same bundle".
Functionally they're almost identical (from the AI perspective), and there are some extra hoops in terms of Azure security, but again this is less of an issue for anyone who is already building against Azure in terms of budgetting and licensing etc. However on this 2nd from directly using Open AI (I've found trying to use both) is the "simpler" mechanism.
Also you get all of the "extra" Azure tools with Microsoft (primarily of interest if you're a developer, rather than a user) to hook in their entire eco-system of databases, platforms etc.
Open AI you "just" get the AI.
Copilot(s) are the realisation of an AI agent for particular tasks, whilst Open AI on Azure is "simply" access to an LLM (and most likely serves to underpin the Copilots as well).
They serve 2 very different purposes, and are not interchangable things. The Enterprise Data Protection is primarily against *Copilot*, not Open AI on Azure.
In terms of advantages, it's the walled garden aspect (even though you're having to pay extra to use the Open AI API) in that you're institution has gone through a procurement process with MS, and it can all be "rolled into the same bundle".
Functionally they're almost identical (from the AI perspective), and there are some extra hoops in terms of Azure security, but again this is less of an issue for anyone who is already building against Azure in terms of budgetting and licensing etc. However on this 2nd from directly using Open AI (I've found trying to use both) is the "simpler" mechanism.
Also you get all of the "extra" Azure tools with Microsoft (primarily of interest if you're a developer, rather than a user) to hook in their entire eco-system of databases, platforms etc.
Open AI you "just" get the AI.
Thanks so much, Michael, for this analysis and comparison. Yes, Microsoft has ben pushing Copilot down's everyone's throat in all their apps, which is hardly helpful from an educational perspective, IMO. And (configurable) API access is just for extra money. We probably could, and should, have expected that.
I just had a chance to look again at all those AI (or AI-powered) services in Azure - yes, loads of tools for administration, stats, and "development" within the bounds of the MS cloud.
I just had a chance to look again at all those AI (or AI-powered) services in Azure - yes, loads of tools for administration, stats, and "development" within the bounds of the MS cloud.