{"id":4511,"date":"2021-01-09T05:06:44","date_gmt":"2021-01-09T05:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/09\/nesta-puts-ai-focus-on-the-common-good\/"},"modified":"2021-01-09T05:06:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-09T05:06:44","slug":"nesta-puts-ai-focus-on-the-common-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/09\/nesta-puts-ai-focus-on-the-common-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Nesta puts AI focus on the common good"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nesta puts AI focus on the common good<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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By Fiona Laing<\/p>\n

The potential for using artificial intelligence (AI) to address some of the most serious social challenges of our time seemed clear to the team at Nesta, the innovation foundation. But in order to understand how computer-aided decision-making might be applied they wanted to see how it was already being harnessed in Scotland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2019, Nesta in Scotland set out to find organisations and individuals working with AI to improve social issues such as reducing loneliness or making education more accessible, supporting young people or boosting health.<\/p>\n

Nesta\u2019s AI for Good programme attracted applications from more than 70 projects, and \u00a315,000 grants were awarded to seven of them in January 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to understand what was the real lay of the land in Scotland when it comes to AI,\u201d says Adam Lang, head of Nesta in Scotland, which is based at the Bayes Centre in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn paper, we have fantastic research institutions in our numerous universities and a supportive government which is developing an AI strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we wondered what could be done to harness these technologies for social good and by that we mean delivering benefits to citizens and communities via public services, charities and environmental organisations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, as a team in Scotland, have an interest in digital and technology-driven innovation, so we devised a programme to help us identify, shine a light on and showcase some of those innovators working with AI for social good.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result Nesta found a broad range of projects from across Scotland, covering various sectors, many of them collaborations drawing on academic or commercial expertise in partnership with charities or the public sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had over 70 applicants which was an incredible testimony to the breadth and depth of interest,\u201d says Lang.<\/p>\n

The grant was only part of the plan; the selected seven projects also received tailored support for their work. Had it not been for the huge disruption of Covid, there was also to have been a programme of public engagement from Nesta. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe intended to use our convening power to showcase these works, raising awareness of the different ways AI can be used for social good,\u201d says Lang.<\/p>\n

Although the plans were scaled back, the project report has been published and it showcases AI\u2019s potential for social good. <\/span><\/p>\n

AI is fast evolving; it is already shaping our world with algorithms determining how we are marketed goods and services on Facebook, Amazon and Google, helping fly planes and in time driving our cars, and Lang sees a key role for Nesta. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are keen to champion the role of citizen engagement in the AI process \u2013 not just in how AI is delivered, but how it is designed and developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is crucial that we continue to challenge ourselves and actively engage in that process in Scotland because otherwise you end up being shaped by it, rather than helping to shape it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to a project at Heriot-Watt University, which focuses on the existing gender stereotypes of virtual assistants. \u201cI think that is why we were really taken by it. There is always a danger that technology like this can be elitist or exclusionary. The Heriot-Watt project stood out because it was about recognising, from the consumer side of AI, that many of these assistants don\u2019t do well in their interactions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to ensure that equity, fairness and inclusion are all part of the development of these tools so we don\u2019t you end up with products that are unintentionally discriminatory.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Lang sees a positive future. \u201cThere is a real potential for using AI tools and AI systems to help us be smarter and more insightful in terms of addressing the challenges we face in Scotland. If we at Nesta can play a small role with this AI for Good programme and showcase some of the potential, then we\u2019ll consider that to be a win.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/p>\n

Published at Fri, 08 Jan 2021 20:26:15 +0000<\/p>\n

Nesta puts AI focus on the common good<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

By Fiona Laing<\/p>\n

The potential for using artificial intelligence (AI) to address some of the most serious social challenges of our time seemed clear to the team at Nesta, the innovation foundation. But in order to understand how computer-aided decision-making might be applied they wanted to see how it was already being harnessed in Scotland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2019, Nesta in Scotland set out to find organisations and individuals working with AI to improve social issues such as reducing loneliness or making education more accessible, supporting young people or boosting health.<\/p>\n

Nesta\u2019s AI for Good programme attracted applications from more than 70 projects, and \u00a315,000 grants were awarded to seven of them in January 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to understand what was the real lay of the land in Scotland when it comes to AI,\u201d says Adam Lang, head of Nesta in Scotland, which is based at the Bayes Centre in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn paper, we have fantastic research institutions in our numerous universities and a supportive government which is developing an AI strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we wondered what could be done to harness these technologies for social good and by that we mean delivering benefits to citizens and communities via public services, charities and environmental organisations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, as a team in Scotland, have an interest in digital and technology-driven innovation, so we devised a programme to help us identify, shine a light on and showcase some of those innovators working with AI for social good.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result Nesta found a broad range of projects from across Scotland, covering various sectors, many of them collaborations drawing on academic or commercial expertise in partnership with charities or the public sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had over 70 applicants which was an incredible testimony to the breadth and depth of interest,\u201d says Lang.<\/p>\n

The grant was only part of the plan; the selected seven projects also received tailored support for their work. Had it not been for the huge disruption of Covid, there was also to have been a programme of public engagement from Nesta. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe intended to use our convening power to showcase these works, raising awareness of the different ways AI can be used for social good,\u201d says Lang.<\/p>\n

Although the plans were scaled back, the project report has been published and it showcases AI\u2019s potential for social good. <\/span><\/p>\n

AI is fast evolving; it is already shaping our world with algorithms determining how we are marketed goods and services on Facebook, Amazon and Google, helping fly planes and in time driving our cars, and Lang sees a key role for Nesta. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are keen to champion the role of citizen engagement in the AI process \u2013 not just in how AI is delivered, but how it is designed and developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is crucial that we continue to challenge ourselves and actively engage in that process in Scotland because otherwise you end up being shaped by it, rather than helping to shape it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to a project at Heriot-Watt University, which focuses on the existing gender stereotypes of virtual assistants. \u201cI think that is why we were really taken by it. There is always a danger that technology like this can be elitist or exclusionary. The Heriot-Watt project stood out because it was about recognising, from the consumer side of AI, that many of these assistants don\u2019t do well in their interactions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to ensure that equity, fairness and inclusion are all part of the development of these tools so we don\u2019t you end up with products that are unintentionally discriminatory.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Lang sees a positive future. \u201cThere is a real potential for using AI tools and AI systems to help us be smarter and more insightful in terms of addressing the challenges we face in Scotland. If we at Nesta can play a small role with this AI for Good programme and showcase some of the potential, then we\u2019ll consider that to be a win.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

Published at Fri, 08 Jan 2021 20:26:15 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nesta puts AI focus on the common good By Fiona Laing The potential for using…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techclot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/XPs2i5.jpg?fit=1024%2C681&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3orZX-1aL","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}