It was just announced that Eric Horvitz, former Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Council member and current Co-Chair of the AI and Robotics Task Force, is the new head of Microsoft Research. Yesterday, it was announced that Jeannette Wing was leaving to lead Columbia’s Data Science Institute. Horvitz has long been a leading voice in AI safety and ethics. Recently, he announced the new Partnership on AI that consists of a consortium including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and IBM. The goal of the partnership is to bring industry together to talk about the use of AI for humanity’s benefit. From Quartz: Horvitz wants to fundamentally change the way humans interact with machines, whether that’s building a new way […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Information Technology, Automation, and the U.S. Workforce released a report last week called Information Technology and the US Workforce: Where are we and Where Do We Go From Here. The report, co-chaired by Eric Brynjolfsson (MIT) and Tom Mitchell (CMU), highlights the impacts of information technology on the current and future US workforce. Recent advances in computing and communication technologies have had and will continue to have a profound impact on our society. Soon technology will affect almost every occupation. This is creating large economics benefits but is also leading to significant changes for our workforce. From the Report Description: […]

The organizing committee for the AI for Social Good Workshop has released their workshop report called Artificial Intelligence for Social Good. The Computing Community Consortium (CCC), along with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), co-sponsored this workshop in June 2016 in Washington, DC. This was one of five workshops that OSTP co-sponsored and held around the country to spur public dialogue on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and to identify challenges and opportunities related to AI. The workshop highlighted successful deployments of AI systems directed at addressing specific societal needs. Subsequent discussions explored broader questions as to […]

The following is a guest blog post by CCC AI and Robotics Task Force Co-Chair Greg Hager from Johns Hopkins University.  Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged into the public view as an important frontier of technological innovation with potential influences in many realms. Many recent symposia and workshops including AI for Social Good, Computing Research: Addressing National Priorities and Societal Needs, and Discovery and Innovation in Smart and Pervasive Health have highlighted both the progress and opportunities for AI and its potential to contribute to new products, services, and experiences. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that fielding real-world systems that realize these innovations will also drive significant advances […]

The following is a blog post by Computing Community Consortium (CCC) AI Task Force Co-Chair Gregory D. Hager, Mandell Bellmore Professor of Computer Science at The Johns Hopkins University and CCC Director Ann Drobnis. The past year has seen an incredible amount of ink spilled on a singular topic: what does the future of AI portend for the nation and the world? Will AI technologies enhance productivity and quality of life, or will it disrupt labor markets and accelerate growth in income disparity and wealth concentration? Will AI research be used for the common good, or will it be “bought up” by the private sector and exploited for commercial gain? Is this […]

This blog post was co-authored by CCC Staff and Greg Hager, Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Past Chair and Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, with contributions from Beth Mynatt, CCC Chair, Professor and Director of Georgia Tech’s Institute for People and Technology.  The Office of Science Technology Policy (OSTP) has just released a new report, “Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence.” In it, they examine the current state of Artificial Intelligence (AI) from both the society and public policy perspective and make 23 policy recommendations. The topics address by the report include: Applications of AI for Public Good AI and Regulation Research and Workforce Economic Impacts of AI Fairness, Safety, and […]