January 2015 Newsletter

In the News

* Top AI researchers from industry and academia have signed an FLI-organized open letter arguing for timely research to make AI more robust and beneficial. Check out our research priorities and supporters on our website.

+ The open letter has been featured by media outlets around the world, including WIRED, Financial Times, Popular Science, CIO, BBC, CNBC, The Independent , The Verge, Z, DNet, CNET, The Telegraph, World News Views, The Economic Times, Industry Week, and Live Science.

* We are delighted to report that Elon Musk has donated $10 million to FLI to create a global research program aimed at keeping AI beneficial to humanity. Read more about the program on our website.

+ You can find more media coverage of the donation at Fast Company, Tech Crunch , WIRED, Mashable, Slash Gear, and BostInno.

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Projects and Events

* FLI recently organized its first-ever conference, entitled “The Future of AI: Opportunities and Challenges.” The conference took place on January 2-5 in Puerto Rico, and brought together top AI researchers, industry leaders, and experts in economics, law, and ethics to discuss the future of AI. The goal was to identify promising research directions that can help maximize the future benefits of AI while avoiding pitfalls. Many of the speakers have posted their talks, which can be found on our website.

* The application for research funds opens Thursday, January 22. Grants are available to AI researchers and to AI-related research involving other fields such as economics, law, ethics and policy. You can find the application on our website.

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Other Updates

* We are happy to announce Francesca Rossi has joined our scientific advisory board! Francesca Rossi is a professor of computer science, with research interests within artificial intelligence. She is the president of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), as well as the associate editor in chief for the Journal of AI Research (JAIR). You can find our entire advisory board on our website.

* Follow and like our social media accounts and ask us questions! We are “Future of Life Institute” on Facebook and @FLIxrisk on Twitter.