Tech bigwigs sense threat from AI, form fund to research best practices
January 11, 2017
LinkedIn and eBay have pledged to donate $10 million each to fund research in ensuring best practices in artificial intelligence.
The Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, which was announced on January 10 by leading tech companies and funders, will distribute the money among a “cross-section of AI ethics and governance projects and activities, both in the United States and internationally.”
“There’s an urgency to ensure that AI benefits society and minimises harm,” said Linkedin co-founder Hoffman. “AI decision-making can influence many aspects of our world – education, transportation, healthcare, criminal justice and the economy – yet data and code behind those decisions can be largely invisible.”
According to The Knight foundation, which also contributed to the fund, the foundation intends to identify possible ethical issues in AI, “helping determine who decides them…and minimize its potential harm.”
Academic partners contributing their technological know-how will be Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and the MIT Media Lab.
Top technology companies Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft also came together in September last year to research on the ethical aspects of AI technology. However, no major announcements have been made so far.
