Google Invests $20M To Research Critical AI Challenges, Workforce Impacts

Google is launching a new initiative called the Digital Futures Project to promote research and public policy solutions surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), as reported by TechCrunch. The project establishes a $20 million fund with the primary goal of supporting think tanks and academic institutions. The project will award grants to researchers who are delving into topics ranging from AI’s impact on global security to the potential transition of the workforce to more AI-centric jobs. 

It’s no secret that tech companies like Google, META, IBM and OpenAI have all been making efforts to boost the public’s understanding of AI tools, often arguing for guardrails and increased caution as the technology becomes widely adopted in the global workforce. However, the next generation of AI technology and its impact on society will bring about critical challenges, like automation and potential job recruitment discrimination. 

Additionally, the project is seeking to reveal greater insights into how governments can harness AI for economic growth and the ideal governance structures to foster responsible AI innovation. 

The Digital Futures Project is being spearheaded by Google’s philanthropic division, Google.org. Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, the director of Google.org, wrote on the transformative potential of AI when announcing the new initiative, Monday. 

“AI has the potential to make our lives easier and address some of society’s most complex challenges – like preventing disease, making cities work better and predicting natural disasters,” Gosselink stated, “But it also raises questions about fairness, bias, misinformation, security and the future of work. Answering these questions will require deep collaboration among industry, academia, governments and civil society.” 

It’s reported by TechCrunch that the list of initial beneficiaries of the Digital Futures Fund encompasses institutions like the Aspen Institute, MIT Work of the Future, and the Brookings Institution, among others.  

The Digital Futures Project is suggestive of how tech giants like Google view AI technology, and it shows the important role those companies may have in informing policymakers. As the TechCrunch report suggests, the trend of integrating AI responsibly into the workforce is not just a fleeting phase, but a movement that will gain momentum in the coming years.  

It’s a collaborative effort, and as Google’s Gosselink aptly puts it, “getting AI right will require more than any one company alone.”