Google will give away $25 million to projects that propose ways to use AI to help create a more humane society. AP
Google will give away $25 million to projects that propose ways to use AI to help create a more humane society. AP

The Americas

Google to give away $25 million to fund humane AI projects

Grant programme announced on Monday is part of a broader initiative called ‘AI for Social Good’

Associated Press

October 30, 2018

Google will give away $25 million (Dh91.83m) to projects that propose ways to use the artificial intelligence of computers to help create a more humane society.

The grant programme announced on Monday is part of a broader Google initiative called "AI for Social Good" that aims to ease concerns that advances in AI will eliminate jobs and perhaps even be autonomously deployed by militaries to kill people.

Other technology companies have taken similar steps to address ethical issues in AI. For instance, Microsoft has committed $115m to an "AI for Good" initiative that provides grants to organisations harnessing AI for humanitarian, accessibility and environmental projects.

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During a presentation in Sunnyvale, California, Google demonstrated how its AI technology is already being used to diagnose diseases, help people with disabilities, predict areas likely to flood and protect endangered species.

Despite commitments like those being made by Google and Microsoft, the spectre of AI going horribly awry lingers.

Even as it pledges to do good things with AI, Microsoft is pursuing a massive US military contract that prompted an open letter earlier this month from a purported group of Microsoft employees worried the company might be betraying its own AI principles.

Microsoft reaffirmed its resolve to win the military contract in its own blog post last week, promising to address any ethical concerns that may arise if it ends up working on the project.

Google decided not to bid for the same military contract that Microsoft wants after some of its own employees protested. The company concluded the contract, potentially worth $10 billion, did not comply with its AI principles, which preclude the technology from being used to “cause or directly facilitate injury to people”.

The company’s AI For Social Good programme was already in the works before Google employees raised objections about the military contract, said Jeff Dean, a senior fellow overseeing AI.

Google’s non-profit arm will announce the winners of its AI grants next spring at an annual company conference.

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Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
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Number of riders: 198

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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