Leading the Charge

Scientists from Intel, Amazon, Facebook and Google joined some of the leading academic minds on artificial intelligence (AI) to discuss the future of machine learning during the inaugural Responsible Machine Learning Summit hosted by UC Santa Barbara. With more than 120 students, faculty, business leaders and invited guests on hand, every speaker and panelist agreed on the importance of establishing an ethical foundation for machine learning, in which a computer uses algorithms and data to make predictions or decisions on its own. "We need to better understand the mutual influence between society and machine learning," said William Wang, a professor of computer science and organizer of the event. "Personally, I'm interested in improving the quality of life by learning the important societal factors and impacts that should be considered when building algorithms, such as fairness, transparency, privacy and accountability." The summit served as the opening for Wang's Center for Responsible Machine Learning.