Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Google and IBM launch Partnership on AI to advance understanding and best practices

The "opportunities and challenges" of artificial intelligence spurred some of the biggest technology companies in the world to come together Wednesday to announce that they were creating a new organization to ensure that AI ultimately benefits people and society. The Partnership on AI is a non-profit organization bringing together Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, DeepMind/Google and IBM to advance public understanding of AI technologies and formulate best practices. A website for the organization spells out the goals, mission and tenets, and member bios are included for representatives from each of the companies. "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," the Partnership said in its news release. "It does not intend to lobby government or other policymaking bodies."