‘AI is shaping our world, and we need to do it in the most human way possible’: New research centre to address responsible AI
From left to right: University of Adelaide Vice-Chancellor and President, Peter Høj; Michael Brown, MP; John Whittle, Director of CSIRO’s Data61; The Hon Susan Close MP, Deputy SA Premier; Dr Kathy Nicholson, AIML Institute Manager; Professor Simon Lucey, AIML Director; Andy Dunbar, Executive Director of the Research and Innovation Group for the government of South Australia; Professor Aaron Quigley, Science Director and Deputy Director of CSIRO’s Data61 at the RAIR event launch at AIML on Monday, 9 December 2024
Today, the University of Adelaide’s Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) in partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) launched its Responsible AI Research Centre (RAIR). The new centre launches with $20 million in funding from The University of Adelaide, CSIRO, and the South Australian Government.
AIML Director Professor Simon Lucey welcomed attendees including The Hon Susan Close MP, Deputy SA Premier and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science; Peter Hoj, Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Adelaide; Michael Brown MP, State Member for Florey; and Professor Jon Whittle, Director of CSIRO’s Data61.
“RAIR's establishment will… generate and innovate AI that can be deployed in a safe and reliable manner,” said Professor Lucey in his welcoming remarks. “Our research will have a national and global impact as we strive for AI solutions that will enhance the lives of everyday Australians. RAIR will position Australia as a world leader in responsible AI research, opening up new avenues for investment and economic activity.”
Responsible AI seeks to address ethical concerns around bias, transparency, and privacy. Given their increasing importance in our society and economy, AI systems must be trusted to ‘behave’ and make ‘decisions’ in a responsible manner.
“There are real jobs and opportunities around working out ways that AI can be more responsible,” said Professor Lucey. “[Developing responsible AI means] to safeguard against misinformation, to actually create new avenues for scientific exploration that make sure that data is safe."
“AIML is an absolutely essential part of the future economy for South Australia,” said Deputy Premier Close. “And what this centre does is say ‘we have artificial intelligence as an extraordinary tool, with extraordinary capacity to crunch big data and turn it into information.’ But how do we do that in a way that is useful and is able to help us become the society and the economy that we want today?”
“AI is shaping our world, and we need to do it in the most human way possible.”
AIML's Dual Arm Robot (DART) came equipped with key stakeholders' apparel
Research conducted at RAIR will explore four key themes:
Tackling misinformation: developing methods that enable attribution of trusted data sources to AI-generated content in order to avoid misinformation and misuse.
Safe AI in the Real World: exploring the foundational science questions that underpin how AI interacts with the physical world, linking to areas including robotics.
Diverse AI: developing AI systems that can accurately assess their own knowledge limitations and reliably express uncertainty, helping to reduce AI hallucinations.
AI that can explain its actions: developing AI that understands cause-and-effect relationships, beyond correlations, particularly in complex and dynamic environments.
“These are four super exciting themes that are probably the four core and most critical areas that have yet to be solved in AI,” observed Professor Whittle during his remarks. “And I think that this centre is going to do amazing things in trying to solve some of those problems.”
“I know that AI represents a huge opportunity, for our society” said Peter Høj, University of Adelaide’s Vice Chancellor at the event. “And what we’ve got to make sure is that opportunity doesn't bypass the majority of our populace.”
“[AI and other tools] have to be tempered by people who work [with them] to make the technology available and responsible. So, I see that as a great opportunity for this new RAIR Centre.”
RAIR represents AIML’s third significant AI initiative this year alone. In September, the Institute announced the establishment of the CommBank Centre for Foundational AI Research, in partnership with Commonwealth Bank, and AIML’s Industrial AI program, which supports the development of core industrial AI capability in South Australia and across the nation in a range of sectors. In total, these three initiatives represent more than $33 million in investment in AI research at AIML.
For more information, please visit the AIML RAIR page.