Google becomes first funder of University of Cambridge’s Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence
Google will help to fund a new AI research centre at the University of Cambridge after agreeing a new joint research partnership.
The long-term agreement will enable collaboration between researchers and scientists at the two organisations to help develop responsible artificial intelligence designed to benefit people.
Google is the first funding partner for the university’s Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence, which is researching areas including responsible AI, robotics, human-machine interaction, healthcare, economic sustainability and climate change.
Next month, the UK will host an AI safety summit, where governments, researchers and tech giants are expected to discuss the potential opportunities and concerns around the technology.
On the new Google and Cambridge agreement, Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “Artificial intelligence can offer us enormous opportunities – growing the economy, creating new jobs and making lives longer, healthier and happier for British people.
“To seize those opportunities, we must bring together insights from business and academia to encourage the safe and responsible development of AI. That is why we are welcoming the partnership which Google and the University of Cambridge have announced today.
“As we prepare for next month’s AI safety summit, this partnership shows that the UK – home to world-leading research facilities as well as some of the biggest tech companies in the world – is perfectly placed to support the innovation that underpins this critical technology.”
The new agreement builds on years of existing collaboration between Google and the University of Cambridge.
Matt Brittin, president of Google EMEA, said: “AI has huge potential to benefit people across the world – whether it’s through making daily life that bit easier, or by tackling some of society’s biggest challenges.
“It’s vital that we work together to seize this opportunity. 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.
“This partnership also reaffirms Google’s commitment to the UK as a global AI and technology leader.”
Prof Anna Korhonen, director of the University of Cambridge Centre for Human-Inspired Intelligence, said: “Here at the Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence our researchers are dedicated to making sure that people are put at the very heart of new developments in AI.
“As our first funding partner, Google has been with us from the start of our journey, helping enable the breakthrough interdisciplinary research that we do.
“Partnerships like this – between academia and industry – will continue to be vital for the successful development of human-inspired AI.”
The agreement comes as a policy report is published by Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, Bennett Institute for Public Policy and ai@cam - the university’s flagship initiative on artificial intelligence - which called for legislation regulating AI safety and transparency.
The report also argued the government should offer tax breaks for businesses developing AI-powered products and services, or applying AI to their existing operations, to “unlock the UK’s potential for augmented productivity”.
The researchers argued that the UK currently lacks the computing capacity and capital required to build “generative” machine learning models fast enough to compete with US companies such as Google, Microsoft or Open AI.
