Amazon, Facebook, Google, IBM and Microsoft pledged to address the privacy, security and ethical challenges of AI. NEW YORK -- Five leading tech companies launched a new effort Wednesday to head off government regulation of artificial intelligence, the fast-growing field at the heart of self-driving cars, digital assistants and other emerging technologies. Through the so-called Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, Amazon, Facebook, Google, IBM and Microsoft pledged to address the privacy, security and ethical challenges of AI -- by funding new research and setting up industry best practices -- as they invest heavily in complex algorithms that can understand human speech or comb through vast amounts of data. "The positive impacts of AI will depend not only on the quality of our algorithms, but on the level of public engagement," said Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of DeepMind, an artificial intelligence company purchased by Google, and a co-chair of the new group. He and other leaders, speaking with reporters Wednesday, said the technology could reduce traffic congestion, tackle climate change and more.