GOOGL, DeepMind Launch Institute To Examine Artificial General Intelligence, Says Report — Why Its Leaders Say AI Safety Can’t Be Country-Specific

• The institute’s first publications examine economic policy, model reasoning transparency, global access, and human flourishing.
• Its leaders acknowledge that Google, DeepMind and outside researchers may disagree as new data and information emerge.
• The institute was created to encourage intellectual debate and help build consensus around AGI’s opportunities and challenges.

Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) Google and DeepMind have reportedly launched the DeepMind Institute to bring together their researchers and outside academics to examine how artificial general intelligence (AGI) could affect society. The emphasis would be on making complex research accessible and encouraging broader debate about the technology’s future.

GOOGL shares were up around 0.20% on Wednesday afternoon at the time of writing.

New Forum For AGI Research

The institute, launched on Wednesday, is led by Shane Legg as managing editor, alongside Google senior vice president James Manyika and DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis. Its aim is to make complex academic research easier for the public to understand while bringing different perspectives into discussions around AGI, reported Axios.

The institute’s first publications cover topics including economic policy for AGI, transparency in model reasoning, global access to the technology and human flourishing.

An introductory essay by Hassabis, Manyika and Legg said Google, Google DeepMind and the wider research community will not necessarily agree on every issue and could change their views as more information becomes available at the rapidly evolving frontier of AI.

The leaders said the institute was created because broad intellectual discussion and debate are needed to build consensus around the challenges and opportunities that AGI could create for society, according to the Axios report.

AI Debate Goes Global

The launch comes as calls for greater international cooperation on AI increase.

“Humanity has to be a part of this,” Manyika said, questioning how safety and responsibility could be addressed on a country-by-country basis when AI will be used globally.

Legg similarly pointed to the international nature of scientific progress, saying AI will drive advances across science and that the research community itself is global.

“If some scientific breakthrough happens in China or it happens in Japan or the U.S. or wherever, this is a global community advancing the frontier in science,” Legg said. 

GOOGL Stock: Stocktwits Retail Sentiment

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for GOOGL was ‘bearish,’ while message volume was ‘normal’ at the time of writing on Wednesday.

GOOGL stock has gained nearly 11% year-to-date. 

Also See: RDDT Co-Founder Wants To Cut Through AI Noise — Why Alexis Ohanian Says Industry Has Done A ‘Tone Deaf Job’ Explaining The Risks

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