Skip to main content current edition: International edition The Guardian - Back to home Become a supporter Subscribe Find a job Jobs Sign in Search Show More Close with google sign in become a supporter subscribe search find a job dating more from the guardian: change edition: edition International edition The Guardian - Back to home browse all sections close Artificial intelligence (AI) 'Partnership on AI' formed by Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft Two big Silicon Valley names are missing from the alliance, which aims to set societal and ethical best practice for artificial intelligence research An army of robots non-profits and specialists in policy and ethics’ to join. Photograph: Alamy Artificial intelligence (AI) 'Partnership on AI' formed by Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft Two big Silicon Valley names are missing from the alliance, which aims to set societal and ethical best practice for artificial intelligence research Alex Hern @alexhern Wed 28 Sep ‘16 22. 00 BST Last modified on Tue 21 Feb ‘17 17. 13 GMT This article is 1 year old Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are joining forces to create a new AI partnership dedicated to advancing public understanding of the sector, as well as coming up with standards for future researchers to abide by. Going by the unwieldy name of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society, the alliance isn’t a lobbying organisation (at least, it says it “does not intend” to lobby government bodies). Instead, it says it will “conduct research, recommend best practices, and publish research under an open license in areas such as ethics, fairness and inclusivity; transparency, privacy, and interoperability; collaboration between people and AI systems; and the trustworthiness, reliability and robustness of the technology”. There will be equal representation between corporate and non-corporate members on the board of the partnership, and it hopes to invite “academics, non-profits and specialists in policy and ethics” to join. An iPhone with Siri working on screen Facebook Twitter Pinterest Despite its work in artificial intelligence through products such as Siri, Apple is not included in the group. Photograph: Alamy Each of the five founding corporate members has strong AI research teams, some of which have become household names, such as IBM’s Watson and Amazon’s Alexa. -- With funding of $1bn (£777m), the group is one of the industry’s best-funded independent AI research labs, and its aims seem to complement those of the Partnership. A small number of large corporations are the powerhouses behind the development of sophisticated artificial intelligence Murray Shanahan, cognitive robotics professor at Imperial College “We’re in the process of inviting many many different research labs and groups,” said Mustafa Suleyman or Deep Mind, the other interim co-chair. “We encourage there to be a diverse range of effort in AI, and we think that’s a great thing. -- He welcomed the creation of the partnership. Research will ‘maximise societal benefits and tackle ethical concerns’ “A small number of large corporations are today the powerhouses behind the development of sophisticated artificial intelligence. The inauguration of the partnership on AI is a very welcome step towards ensuring this technology is used wisely,” he said. -- “This group is a huge step forward, breaking down barriers for AI teams to share best practices, research ways to maximise societal benefits and tackle ethical concerns, and make it easier for those in other fields to engage with everyone’s work. We’re really proud of how this has come together, and we’re looking forward to working with everyone inside and outside the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to make sure AI has the broad and transformative impact we all want to see. ” Facebook’s director of AI research, Yann LeCun, said: “By openly collaborating with our peers and sharing findings, we aim to push new boundaries every day, not only within Facebook, but across the entire research community.