The University of Cambridge, a renowned contributor to the field of AI research, has recently made significant strides with its Centre for Human-Inspired AI (CHIA). The Centre has entered into a significant long-term research agreement with Google, marking a major collaboration in the realms of responsible AI, healthcare, and sustainability. This partnership secures Google’s position as the first funding partner for the University’s dedicated AI research center.
This agreement — which was first announced in October — is an expansion of the already established relationship between Google Research, Google DeepMind, and the University of Cambridge. It encompasses not only research funding but also support for a postdoctoral fellowship program. In addition, Google DeepMind has taken a further step in strengthening this academic alliance by establishing the first professorship in machine learning at Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology.
This collaboration comes at a time when AI’s impact and ethics are hot topics in academic and public discourse. This was highlighted recently when AI safety protesters interrupted a talk by Sam Altman, the founder and CEO of OpenAI, at the Cambridge Union. The protesters displayed banners with messages like “OpenAI threatens democracy and humanity,” underscoring the growing concerns and debates surrounding AI development and its societal implications. The partnership between Cambridge and Google in advancing human-inspired AI research is a significant development in this context, aiming to address such concerns while pushing the boundaries of AI technology.
Here’s what some of the people involved in the collaboration had to say about it:
“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 the University, Brittin hopes for AI research that is “bold, responsible and designed to meet the needs of people across the country.”
— Matt Brittin, president of Google EMEA and Cambridge alumnus
“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.”
— Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
“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.”
— Professor Anna Korhonen, director of CHIA
“Google and the University of Cambridge share a deep commitment to developing AI responsibly. We’re excited by CHIA’s potential to set new standards in responsible and human-centric AI development, and unlock AI discoveries that could benefit everyone.”
—Zoubin Ghahramani, VP of research at Google DeepMind, and professor of information engineering at the University of Cambridge
