Google and the University of Cambridge join forces for ‘responsible AI innovation’

Google and the University of Cambridge have entered a multi-year research partnership focusing on responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the goal of investigating the potential positive impacts on society such as tackling climate change.

As part of the agreement, Google will collaborate with the University’s Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence (CHIA), concentrating on essential AI research initiatives in mutual areas of interest, as well as AI ethics and safety.

Research projects will focus on responsible AI, human-centred robotics, human-machine interaction, healthcare, economic sustainability, and climate change, according to Google.

Matt Brittin, President of Google EMEA, commented: “By collaborating with one of our world-leading British academic institutions, we can enable AI research that is bold, responsible and designed to meet the needs of people across the country.”

Margo Waldorf CEO of Change Awards said: “The safety and ethics of using AI are critical subjects across the industry, so it is great to see Google and the University of Cambridge pioneer the research in the responsible use of the technology.

“These changemakers are paving the way for others to discuss ethics and safety and promote the application of technology for the greater good of humankind.”

“On the industry side, the change management practitioners welcome the task of driving the change adoption across the internal and external communities to ensure the practical application of the research findings.”

Tom Dunning, CEO and Founder of Ad Signal, added: “The greatest downfall of AI is the blanket adoption from businesses jumping on the latest trend without first assessing whether AI is the best tool for the job.

“While AI undoubtedly has its benefits, both the training of models and the components that power it require carbon-heavy materials to produce, colossal cooling and increase network traffic significantly.”

“Industry and academia must therefore take the lead in ensuring the development and adoption of responsible AI for benefits such as climate change through environmental reporting and analysis.

“Organisations such as Google and the University of Cambridge have the capacity and responsibility to shift the market towards less carbon-intensive solutions, while also reducing the carbon output of AI. This partnership will hopefully pave the way for a new approach towards AI, and one that greatly considers its environmental impact.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily