Facebook and the Technical University of Munich open AI ethics centre

Facebook and the Technical University of Munich have announced co-operation in developing a research centre to focus on ethics in the context of artificial intelligence (AI). The Institute for Ethics in AI will benefit from an initial grant of 7.5 million USD over from Facebook, over the next five years. It will, however, also try to attract funding from other donors, such as public agencies and other private entities. The institute is expected to conduct substantive research on issues related to AI and ethics, such as safety, privacy, fairness, and transparency. The output of such research could take the form of ethical frameworks, methodologies and algorithmic approaches to provide advice and guidance for AI developers and practitioners, legislators, and decision-makers. In motivating its choice for such an investment in a German-based centre, Facebook explained that it expects the institute to ‘benefit from Germany’s position at the forefront of the conversation surrounding ethical frameworks for AI’.