Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft Team Up to Make Artificial Intelligence Less Scary

The tech behemoths want consumers to feel comfortable with real-life versions of Ava, the robot from Ex Machina. The Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society was unveiled today by Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. Their chief mission is to promote public understanding of AI while developing standards and best practices for researchers to abide by. A press release late on Wednesday stated: "The objective of the partnership on AI is to address opportunities and challenges with AI technologies to benefit people and society. Together, the organization's members will conduct research, recommend best practices, and publish research under an open license in areas such as ethics, fairness and inclusivity; transparency, privacy, and interoperability; collaboration between people and AI systems; and the trustworthiness, reliability and robustness of the technology. It does not intend to lobby government or other policymaking bodies."