With artificial intelligence high on the agenda of global political and business leaders, EPFL is launching a new Center that will focus on how safe and effective AI can advance technological innovation for the benefit of all sectors of society.
As a hub for artificial intelligence, the EPFL AI Center will leverage the extensive existing expertise of faculty and researchers across the Institution. It will foster a collaborative environment that nurtures multidisciplinary engagement in AI research, education, and broader aspects of innovation and collaboration.
Bringing together a diverse community of scientists, engineers, and practitioners, the Center will be co-directed by EPFL professors Pascal Frossard from the School of Engineering (STI) and Marcel Salathé from the School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC), and the School of Life Sciences (SV).
“AI has a far-reaching impact on all aspects of life, including science and education. Given this vast reach, a highly collaborative and agile approach is essential and will enable us to harness AI responsibly and productively for individuals, communities, institutions, and society as a whole,” says Pascal Frossard.
The new EPFL AI Center will also serve as the coordinating body for a wide range of AI activities. “These will include new educational and strategic initiatives as well as EPFL’s flagship annual event Applied Machine Learning Days (AMLD) which is a focal point for collaboration in AI with industry and the public sector,” continued Marcel Salathé.
This work reflects initiatives such as the recent AI Safety Summit in the UK where the “Bletchley Declaration”, signed by 25 countries including Switzerland, focused on identifying risks of shared concern and building scientific understanding of them, while also developing cross-country policies to mitigate them.
Author: Deirdre Rochat