The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and Squirrel AI Learning announced the establishment of a new $1M annual award for societal benefits of AI. The award will be sponsored by Squirrel AI Learning as part of its mission to promote the use of artificial intelligence with lasting positive effects for society. The new Squirrel AI Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity was announced jointly by Derek Haoyang Li, Founder and Chairman of Squirrel AI Learning, and Yolanda Gil, President of AAAI, at the 2019 conference for AI for adaptive Education (AIAED) in Beijing. Established in 2014, Squirrel AI Learning Intelligent Adaptive Education by Yixue Group is the first artificial intelligence company in China to apply AI-powered adaptive learning technology to K12 education. Squirrel AI Learning products use a model that combines artificial intelligence and human coaches to provide students with access to individualized and affordable high-quality education. Although the focus of Squirrel AI Learning is on education, Li insisted that the award will recognize AI innovations across all disciplines. The establishment of this award aims to inspire the AI community and draw attention to AI that can benefit humanity. This new international award will recognize significant contributions in the field of artificial intelligence with profound societal impact that have generated otherwise unattainable value for humanity. The award nomination and selection process will be designed by a committee led by AAAI that will include representatives from international organizations with relevant expertise that will be designated by Squirrel AI Learning.

Yolanda Gil, a research director at the USC Viterbi Information Sciences Institute (ISI), co-authored a new 20-year Artificial Intelligence Roadmap. An outbreak of a highly contagious mosquito-borne virus in the U.S. has spread quickly to major cities around the world. It's all hands on deck to stop the disease from spreading–and that includes the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, which scour online news and social media for relevant data and patterns. In consultation with human scientists, AI systems could help contain infectious diseases and identify effective vaccines. Working with these results, and data gathered from numerous hospitals around the world, scientists discover an interesting link to a rare neurological condition and a treatment is developed.