Artificial Intelligence has been a tried and tested concept since its inception with a not-so smooth path on its acceptance. If we look at the timeline of AI, there have been many dull phases but has always overcome the hurricane with its bang on presence the very next time.
With this roller coaster ride of AI’s acceptance and rejection, one thing which is undeniable is that AI could never be ignored. Proving on the same and boosting the concept of AI even further, five of the biggest names in the tech industry viz. Amazon, DeepMind/Google, Facebook, IBM and Microsoft have collaborated on creating a non-profit organization that would contribute in advancing the public understanding of artificial intelligence technologies- an act that could be touted as self-governance!
What would it bring on the table? Along the partnership comes the assurance that it would explore the best of opportunities in AI space that are still largely untapped. It would also aim at overcoming the challenges that this industry currently faces.
The point worth noting here is that the founding companies of this partnership have had an excelling path in the area of AI. Be it IBM’s Watson, Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s London-based subsidiary DeepMind or Microsoft’s Cortana, they all have a background in AI to boast off!
Further elaborating on the objectives:
The Board named Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society will bring together academicians, non-profits and specialists in ethics and policy. The founding members of the organization would be put up with the charge of contributing financial and research resources to ensure its smooth functioning. They would also aim at sharing leadership with independent third parties, academicians, user group advocates, industry domain experts all alike.
Conducting research, recommending best practices and publishing research under an open license in areas such as ethics, fairness, transparency, privacy, reliability, collaboration between people and AI systems and robustness of the technology, are some of the practices that this partnership would ensure. The alliance, like many would perceive, will not lobby government or other policymaking bodies.
Who all can be a part of it?
For those wondering on who all would make to the board of members, the structure has been laid out such that along with the large names in the industry, non-corporate groups can have an equal leadership.
There are discussions with various organizations- both professional and scientific such as the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and non-profit research group such as Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2). There can be more additions in the list with time.
A few misses:
While the move has fetched a lot of appreciation from all the corners, there have been certain misses that have been pointed out. Two of the biggest names in the AI driven industry, Apple and Tesla’s absence has been the talking point. Whether they become a part of the much talked off partnership or not is for the time to tell.
The road ahead…
Ensuring a smooth run in the field of Artificial Intelligence, this collaboration has been a welcoming move. It definitely points towards a bright future where it would benefit both the technology and society alike. It brings a vital collaboration in the picturesque that would have people and machines solving the long running problems in the most effective way be in any space- healthcare, education, manufacturing, transportation or others.
