Google and DeepMind Launch Institute to Explore AGI Impacts
Google and DeepMind have launched an institute to explore the impacts of artificial general intelligence (AGI) on society. The DeepMind Institute, led by Shane Legg as Managing Editor alongside Google SVP James Manyika and DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis, aims to make complex academic research accessible to the public.
The institute was created to provide a forum for Google, DeepMind, and outside researchers to tackle the biggest questions around AGI's impacts on society. The goal is to facilitate broad-based intellectual discussion and debate to arrive at a consensus about how to address the challenges and opportunities we face as a society.
The institute launched with inaugural publications exploring economic policy for AGI, model reasoning transparency, global access, and human flourishing. An introductory essay from Hassabis, Manyika, and Legg notes that Google, DeepMind, and the broader global research community will not always agree on how to address the challenges and opportunities of AGI.
The institute comes as calls for international collaboration on AI reach a fever pitch, including with the U.S.' biggest adversary. Manyika emphasized the need for humanity to be part of this discussion, stating that 'AI is going to drive all kinds of advances in science, and science is an international thing.'