DeepMind has announced that they are launching a new research unit called DeepMind Ethics & Society, aimed at helping the company explore the impacts of artificial intelligence in the real world. The organization believes that AI scientists must hold their work to the highest ethical standards because they are responsible for the social impact of their work.
According to DeepMind, AI applications must remain under human control – a thought that is shared by many. They also believe that this technology should be used for socially beneficial purposes. In a blog post, the organization writes that this new research unit “has a dual aim: to help technologists put ethics into practice, and to help society anticipate and direct the impact of AI so that it works for the benefit of all.”
The new unit is inspired by some of the other research that has been done in the ethics of AI, such as Julia Angwin’s study on racism in criminal justice algorithms. With this new research unit, DeepMind hopes to conduct research of their own by collaborating with experts from the humanities and social sciences, as well as DeepMind Ethics & Society Fellows, which are a group of independent advisors.
“With the creation of DeepMind Ethics & Society we hope to challenge assumptions-including our own-and pave the way for truly beneficial and responsible AI,” DeepMind writes.
