Researchers focused on boosting society's resilience against
AI risks such as
deepfakes, misinformation, and cyber-attacks, can now access
government grants to drive forward their work which will help
ensure the safety of AI, as the UK taps into its
potential to spark economic growth and improvements to public
services.
The scheme launched today (Tuesday 15th October), in
partnership with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC)
and Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is focused on how
society can be protected from the potential risks of AI. It will also support
research to tackle the threat of AI systems failing unexpectedly,
for example in the financial sector.
Tackling these risks head on will boost public confidence in the
technology which holds enormous potential to spark long-term
growth, while keeping the UK at the heart of research into
responsible and trustworthy AI development. Ensuring public
confidence in AI is
central to the government's plans for seizing its potential, as
the UK harnesses the technology to drive up productivity and
deliver public services which are fit for the future.
To ensure the UK can continue to harness the enormous
opportunities of AI,
the government has also committed to introduce highly-targeted
legislation for the handful of companies developing the most
powerful AI models,
ensuring a proportionate approach to regulation rather than new
blanket rules on its use.
Systemic AI safety
is focused on the systems and infrastructure where AI is being deployed across
different sectors. The programme launched today hopes to spark a
broad range of research to identify the critical risks of
frontier AI adoption
in critical sectors like healthcare and energy services,
identifying potential solutions which can then be transformed
into long-term tools which tackle potential AI risks in these areas.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology,
said:
My focus is on speeding up the adoption of AI across the country so that we
can kickstart growth and improve public services. Central to that
plan though is boosting public trust in the innovations which are
already delivering real change.
That's where this grants programme comes in. By tapping into a
wide range of expertise from industry to academia, we are
supporting the research which will make sure that as we roll
AI systems out
across our economy, they can be safe and trustworthy at the point
of delivery.
Launching the formal opening of its Systemic Safety Grants
Programme, the UK's AI Safety Institute is looking
to back around 20 projects with funding of up to £200,000 each
over the course of its first phase, worth £4 million. In total
the fund is worth £8.5 million, first announced at May's AI Seoul Summit, with the
additional cash to become available in due course as further
phases are launched.
Applicants will be assessed on the potential issues their
research could solve and what risks it addresses, having until
26th of November to submit their proposals.
AI Safety Institute
Chair Ian Hogarth, said:
This grants programme allows us to advance broader understanding
on the emerging topic of systemic AI safety. It will focus on
identifying and mitigating risks associated with AI deployment in specific
sectors which could impact society, whether that's in areas like
deepfakes or the potential for AI systems to fail unexpectedly.
By bringing together researcher from a wide range of disciplines
and backgrounds into this process of contributing to a broader
base of AIresearch,
we're building up empirical evidence of where AI models could pose risks so we
can develop a rounded approach to AI safety for the global public
good.
The AI Safety
Institute's work in evaluating the safety of AI models is just one part of
its mission, and the grants programme is set to deliver new
research which will ultimately help societies across the world to
better manage changes the technology could bring.
UK-based organisations are eligible to apply for grant funding
via a dedicated website, and the programme's opening phase will
aim to deepen understandings over what challenges AI is likely to pose to society
in the near future. Projects can also include international
partners, boosting collaboration between developers and the
AI research
community while strengthening the shared global approach to the
safe deployment and development of the technology.
Successful applicants will be confirmed in the end of January
2025, with the first round of grants then set to be awarded in
February.
Notes to editors
Visit AI Safety
Institute website for:
