Many Top AI Researchers Get Financial Backing From Big Tech

As a grad student working on artificial intelligence, Mohamed Abdalla could probably walk into a number of well-paid industry jobs. Instead, he wants to draw attention to how Big Tech's big bucks may be warping the perspective of his field. Abdalla, who is finishing his PhD at the University of Toronto, has coauthored a paper highlighting the number of top AI researchers--including those who study the ethical challenges raised by the technology--who receive funding from tech companies. That can be a particular problem, he says, when corporate AI systems raise ethical issues, such as algorithmic bias, military use, or questions about the fairness and accuracy of face recognition programs. Abdalla found that more than half of tenure-track AI faculty at four prominent universities who disclose their funding sources have received some sort of backing from Big Tech.