Google.org to Invest $20M into AI-focused Grants for think Tanks and Academic Institutions

Introduction:

With the launch of the Digital Futures Project, Google.org unveiled a new project to assist researchers and public policy solutions surrounding AI before Wednesday’s AI-focused private congressional meeting with tech giants. In support of this, Google.org, the company’s charitable arm, is creating a $20 million fund to award grants to think tanks and academic institutions working to advance AI.

According to Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, director of Google.org, “AI can improve our lives and address some of society’s most complicated concerns, such as avoiding sickness, improving city operations, and forecasting natural disasters. But it also poses issues with justice, prejudice, false information, security, and the nature of the job in the future.

The tech giant is committed to supporting independent thinkers researching various critical topics. These include the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on global security and its potential to enhance security measures for institutions and businesses. Additionally, the focus extends to understanding AI’s implications on the labor force and strategies for transitioning workers into future AI-related roles.

The company is also interested in exploring how governments can harness AI to bolster productivity and drive economic growth. Moreover, they aim to promote responsible AI innovation through effective governance structures and collaborative efforts spanning multiple industries.

Well-known institutions including the Aspen Institute, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for a New American Security, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Institute for Security and Technology, Leadership Conference Education Fund, MIT Work of the Future, R Street Institute, and SeedAI are among the first recipients of grants from the Digital Futures Fund.

Google underlines that this fund is created to assist groups on a worldwide scale, including both domestic and foreign organizations. The specific initiatives funded by the fund will soon receive more details.

Google.org to Invest $20M into AI-focused:

Google.org to Invest $20M into AI-focused (Image Source: techcrunch.com)

As AI development has accelerated, interest in “responsible AI” has grown. Four leading AI companies—OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and Google—announced the formation of the Frontier Model Forum earlier this year to guarantee the “safe and responsible development of AI models. President Biden also met with representatives from seven AI firms at the White House to discuss voluntary AI safety measures. Europe has also made progress toward settling on an AI code of ethics outside of the United States.

Shortly, Elon Musk, who recently unveiled a new AI enterprise named xAI, is scheduled to engage in a private session with all 100 senators of the U.S. Congress. This exclusive gathering will also feature prominent figures from the tech industry, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai, and executives from companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir.

While this was happening, Google continued releasing AI research and issued its own set of AI principles in 2018. Nevertheless, the corporation had become cautious about creating and disseminating AI technologies, which resulted in the researchers’ departure and gave Microsoft and OpenAI the chance to seize the initiative with ChatGPT and a relationship that integrated OpenAI technology into Bing and other Microsoft products.

Google today emphasized that getting AI right will require more than one firm, emphasizing collaboration. The Digital Futures Project and its fund, according to Gosselink, “hope to support many others across academia and civil society to advance independent research on AI that helps this transformative technology benefit everyone.”