A series of breakthrough AI projects has been awarded £12million to address the challenges of rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Three initiatives in the UK will look to tackle emerging concerns of generative and other forms of AI currently being built and deployed across society.
The projects cover the health and social care sectors, law enforcement and financial services.
An additional two projects, funded by UKRI, are looking at both how responsible AI can help drive productivity and how public voices can be amplified in the design and deployment of these technologies.
Funding has been awarded by Responsible AI UK (RAi UK) and form the pillars of its £31million programme that will run for four years.
RAi UK is led from the University of Southampton and backed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund and EPSRC. UKRI has also committed an additional £4m of funding to further support these initiatives.
Professor of Artificial Intelligence Gopal Ramchurn, from the University of Southampton and CEO of RAi UK, said the projects are multi-disciplinary and bring together computer and social scientists, alongside other specialists.
He added: "These projects are the keystones of the Responsible AI UK programme and have been chosen because they address the most pressing challenges that society faces with the rapid advances in AI.
"The projects will deliver interdisciplinary research that looks to address the complex socio-technical challenges that already exist or are emerging with the use of generative AI and other forms of AI deployed in the real-world.
"The concerns around AI are not just for governments and industry to deal with – it is important that AI experts engage with researchers and policymakers to ensure we can better anticipate the issues that will be caused by AI."
Since its launch last year, RAi UK has delivered £13milliion of research funding. It is developing its own research programme to support ongoing work across major initiatives such as the AI safety institute, the Alan Turing Institute, and BRAID UK.
RAi UK is supported by UKRI, the largest public funder of research and innovation, as part of government plans to turn the UK into a powerhouse for future AI development.
Dr Kedar Pandya, UKRI Technology Missions Fund SRO and Executive Director at EPSRC said: "AI has great potential to drive positive impacts across both our society and economy.
"This £4m of funding through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund will support projects that are considering the responsible use of AI within specific contexts.
"These projects showcase strong features of the responsible AI ecosystem we have within the UK and will build partnerships across a diverse set of organisations working on shared challenges.
These investments complement UKRI's £1bn portfolio of investments in AI research and innovation, and will help strengthen public trust in AI, maximising the value of this transformative technology."
