Apple has joined an artificial Intelligence (AI) research group alongside the other tech giants of the world. The organization, called Partnership on AI, ensures that the technology is used ethically and for the greater good of humanity. The Cupertino company has been involved with the group since last year, but has formalized its membership together with Amazon, Facebook Google/DeepMind, IBM and Microsoft. The birth of AI has made our lives easier, but the more advance it becomes, the more some worry about what the future holds. And experts have been verbal about the nightmare that may lay ahead. Stephen Hawking has warned that AI 'has the potential to evolve faster than the human race' and stated that 'we need to ensure AI is designed ethically, with safeguards in place'- this is where Partnership on AI comes in. 'The objective of the Partnership on AI is to address opportunities and challenges with AI technologies to benefit people and society,' the group said during its launch in September. PARTNERSHIP ON AI RULES 1. We will seek to ensure that AI technologies benefit and empower as many people as possible. 2. We will educate and listen to the public and actively engage stakeholders to seek their feedback on our focus, inform them of our work, and address their questions. 3. We are committed to open research and dialog on the ethical, social, economic, and legal implications of AI. 4. We believe that AI research and development efforts need to be actively engaged with and accountable to a broad range of stakeholders. 5. We will engage with and have representation from stakeholders in the business community to help ensure that domain-specific concerns and opportunities are understood and addressed. 6. We will work to maximize the benefits and address the potential challenges of AI technologies, by: Working to protect the privacy and security of individuals. Striving to understand and respect the interests of all parties that may be impacted by AI advances. Working to ensure that AI research and engineering communities remain socially responsible, sensitive, and engaged directly with the potential influences of AI technologies on wider society. Ensuring that AI research and technology is robust, reliable, trustworthy, and operates within secure constraints. Opposing development and use of AI technologies that would violate international conventions or human rights, and promoting safeguards and technologies that do no harm. 7. We believe that it is important for the operation of AI systems to be understandable and interpretable by people, for purposes of explaining the technology. 8. We strive to create a culture of cooperation, trust, and openness among AI scientists and engineers to help us all better achieve these goals. Partnership on AI says plans to 'conduct research, recommend best practices, and publish research under an open license in areas such as ethics, fairness and inclusivity; transparency, privacy, and interoperability; collaboration between people and AI systems; and the trustworthiness, reliability and robustness of the technology' And now, Apple is the latest newcomer in helping the mission. 'We're glad to see the industry engaging on some of the larger opportunities and concerns created with the advance of machine learning and AI, Tom Gruber, head of advanced development of Siri, shared in a statement. 'We believe it's beneficial to Apple, our customers, and the industry to play an active role in its development and look forward to collaborating with the group to help drive discussion on how to advance AI while protecting the privacy and security of consumers.' In addition to Apple joining, Partnership on AI also brought on six new independent board members. The new members will join Greg Corrado (Google/DeepMind), Tom Gruber (Apple), Ralf Herbrich (Amazon), Eric Horvitz (Microsoft), Yann Lecun (Facebook), and Francesca Rossi (IBM) on our Board of Trustees, to create a board that strikes a balance between corporate and not-for-profit memberships. WILL ROBOTS TAKE OUR JOBS? As robots increasingly make their way into the workforce, some have argued that they will soon be taking over many traditionally human jobs. In an interview with Fox Business, former McDonalds USA CEO Ed Rensi argued that the $15/hour minimum wage raise will bring 'job loss like you can't believe.' He argued that it would be cheaper for companies to instead purchase robotic devices. 'If you look at the robotic devices that are coming into the restaurant industry -- it's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who's inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries,' Rensi said. Foxconn, a supplier for Apple and Samsung, has already reduced its human workforce drastically, The South China Morning Post reports. One factory has now 'reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000, thanks to the introduction of robots,' an official told the Post. And, they predict more companies will soon follow, with up to 600 firms reporting similar plans in a government survey. 'We passionately believe in the potential for it to transform in a positive way our world,' said Mustafa Suleyman, head of applied A.I. for DeepMind, an artificial intelligence development company acquired by Google in 2014. 'We believe it's critical now to start to think about new models of engagement with the public, new models of collaboration across the industry and new models of transparency around the work that we do.' The first meeting of the Board of Trustees is taking place on Friday, February 3rd in San Francisco, and the group plans to share the details 'shortly after' the meeting.
