As history attests, technological innovation in itself is no guarantee of broader social progress. The development of AI creates important and complex questions. Its impact on society—and on all our lives—is not something that should be left to chance. Beneficial outcomes and protections against harms must be actively fought for and built-in from the beginning. But in a field as complex as AI, this is easier said than done.
So today we’re launching a new research unit, DeepMind Ethics & Society, to complement our work in AI science and application. This new unit will help us explore and understand the real-world impacts of AI. It 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.
Of course, we’re far from alone in thinking about these topics. The ethical and social impact of AI is a thriving field of study, home to groundbreaking work from Julia Angwin’s study of racism in criminal justice algorithms, to Kate Crawford and Ryan Calo's examination of the broader consequences of AI for social systems, and many others besides. That’s why we plan to conduct interdisciplinary research that brings together experts from the humanities, social sciences and beyond, along with voices from civil society and technical insights from our team at DeepMind to conduct and fund interdisciplinary research.
If AI technologies are to serve society, they must be shaped by society’s priorities and concerns.
see the full story here: https://deepmind.com/blog/why-we-launched-deepmind-ethics-society/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=56f81e0ee8-The_Download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-56f81e0ee8-153894145