Cambridge University has established a new center that is aimed at studying the implications of artificial intelligence and influencing the development of the technology.
The establishment of the new center is the latest sign that concern over AI is growing when it comes to jobs and even human safety. The center is able to come into existence thanks to a £10 million ($15.13 million) grant from the Leverhulme Trust.
The center will bring together a number of computer scientists, philosophers and more professionals in a range of different areas to examine the implications of the development of artificial intelligence in today's society.
"Machine intelligence will be one of the defining themes of our century, and the challenges of ensuring that we make good use of its opportunities are ones we all face together. At present, however, we have barely begun to consider its ramifications, good or bad," said Huw Price, the Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge, as well as the director of the new center.
The center will also work with the Centre of the Study of Existential Risk, which is aimed at studying the risks to humanity that have begun emerging. These risks include the likes of climate change, as well as artificial intelligence.
The news comes as tech companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Google and Facebook are all working on artificial intelligence and the tech behind it, looking at ways to implement the tech into their products. Despite this, the likes of Bill Gates and Elon Musk warn of the possible dangers of artificial intelligence.
The center will also join other efforts around the world to study artificial intelligence and the implications that it could have on humanity. Another such organization is the Future of Life Institute, which is based in Massachusetts and was awarded $7 million by Elon Musk to keep AI beneficial for the human species.
