With artificial intelligence (AI) technologies quickly expanding to dominate the modern technology landscape, and widespread predictions AI use will change just about every facet of life from medical diagnosis to agriculture and accounting, developing responsible frameworks around its use are paramount.
The CSIRO and the University of Adelaide’s Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) have partnered to launch the Responsible AI Research Centre (RAIR) for that purpose.
“Given its increasing importance in our society and economy, AI must use algorithms, guidelines, systems and case studies that promote human values and trust,” South Australian Deputy Premier and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Susan Close said.
“The Responsible AI Research Centre will have national and international impact and reinforces South Australia’s reputation as a recognised leader in artificial intelligence research.
“Our investment of $5 million to establish the RAIR Centre is in addition to $6 million in State Government funding already committed to AIML earlier this year, which builds on its considerable success supporting businesses to develop AI-enabled products and services, automate processes and improve productivity.”
Innovation, safety and reliability
The RAIR marks the AIML’s third major AI-related initiative for this year, having established the CommBank Centre for Foundational AI and the Industrial AI program earlier this year.
In total, the initiatives represent more than $33 million in AI research investment.
“AI is already having a significant impact on the lives of Australians,” University of Adelaide RAIR interim director and AIML director Professor Simon Lucey said.
“There are, however, sectors that have not previously benefited from AI due to concerns about safety and reliability. Safeguards alone are not enough; we also need innovation.
"RAIR’s establishment will combine AIML's expertise with CSIRO’s Data61 and the Government of South Australia to generate innovative AI that can be deployed in a safe and reliable manner.
“Our research will have a national and global impact as we strive for AI solutions that will enhance the lives of everyday Australians.
“RAIR will position Australia as a world leader in responsible AI research, opening up new avenues for investment and economic opportunity.”
Supported with funding from the South Australian Government, the RAIR will conduct research based on four key themes, including:
- Tackling misinformation - developing methods that enable attribution of trusted data sources to AI-generated content in order to avoid misinformation and misuse.
- Safe AI in the Real World - exploring the foundational science questions that underpin how AI interacts with the physical world, linking to areas including robotics.
- Diverse AI - developing AI systems that can accurately assess their own knowledge limitations and reliably express uncertainty, helping to reduce AI hallucinations.
- AI that can explain its actions - developing AI that understands cause-and-effect relationships, beyond correlations, particularly in complex and dynamic environments.
“This centre will bring together expertise from two of the country’s leading responsible AI research institutions to collaboratively tackle some of the most pressing grand challenges of our time,” CSIRO National Facilities and Collections executive director Professor Elanor Huntington said.
“Responsible AI is an emerging field; this centre shows Australia’s very real commitment to strong global leadership in the development of innovative technologies for deploying AI.”