Google announces pledge of $25 million to AI for social good

California-based tech giant Google announced that this grant will fund "AI for Social Good" programme's "AI Impact Challenge" contest.

Google recently announced the Google AI Impact Challenge, a global call for nonprofits, academics, and social enterprises to submit proposals on how they could use artificial intelligence (AI) to help address some of the world’s greatest social, humanitarian and environmental problems.

Because AI can help one find patterns in complex data and make everyday products more useful, the tech company is looking at the computer programming tool as a means to address societal issues.

In a recent blog update, Google stated that it has been using core Google AI research and engineering to projects with positive societal impact, including forecasting floods, protecting whales, and predicting famine. The AI Impact Challenge will bring together the above-mentioned features in a new programme AI for Social Good. The competition was announced today at the AI for Social Good event held at the company’s Sunnyvale, California office, and is being overseen and managed by the company’s charitable arm Google.org.

“We’re applying AI to a wide range of problems, partnering with external organisations to work toward solutions. But we’re far from having all the answers—or even knowing all the questions. We want people from as many backgrounds as possible to surface problems that AI can help solve, and to be empowered to create solutions themselves”, the blog read.

Google will also offer coaching to selected candidates through its in-house AI experts, grants from the Google.org $25 million pool, and credits and consulting from Google Cloud. The selected candidates will also join a specialised Launchpad Accelerator program.

In spring 2019, a panel of experts from computer science and the social sector will oversee the selection process. “We don’t expect applicants to be AI experts. For any nonprofit or researcher who has a great idea or wants help brainstorming one, we've built an educational guide with introductions to AI and the types of problems it’s well-suited for, as well as workshops in key locations around the world," it said.

The challenge is open to nonprofits, developers and social entrepreneurs from across the world.