Will technology ever be good enough to put humans at risk?
The founders of LinkedIn and eBay have donated huge sums of money to fund academic research into helping society stay protected from artificial intelligence (AI).
They have donated a combined $20m (£16.4m).
LinkedIn’s founder Reid Hoffman, told The Guardian: “There’s an urgency to ensure that AI benefits society and minimises harm,”
“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.”
Specific research areas have not yet been fully decided, but the possibilities do include ethical design.
The fund is one of the many new bodies focusing on shaping the future of AI. The Partnership on AI, was launched in September 2016 to “establish AI best practices”. Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are all involved.
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