IBM and MIT Partner on Artificial Intelligence Lab

IBM announced its plans to make a 10-year $240 million investment to create the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.

The lab will conduct fundamental AI research and work to promote the benefits of AI, and pursue scientific breakthroughs that will unlock its potential.

The two organizations said their goal is to advance AI hardware and software, along with algorithms related to deep learning. They also want to explore AI’s implications on society and increase its impact on industries such as cybersecurity and healthcare.

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According to the statement released by IBM, the lab will be one of the largest of its kind to date, and will be home to over 100 AI scientists, professors and students. It will be located in Kendall Square, Cambridge Mass., and the MIT campus.  (See video at the end of this article for more on the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.)

“Today’s AI systems, as remarkable as they are, will require new innovations to tackle increasingly difficult real-world problems to improve our work and lives,” said John Kelly III, senior vice president, IBM Cognitive Solutions and Research, in a prepared statement.

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“I am delighted by this new collaboration,” added MIT President L. Rafael Reif. “True breakthroughs are often the result of fresh thinking inspired by new kinds of research teams. The combined MIT and IBM talent dedicated to this new effort will bring formidable power to a field with staggering potential to advance knowledge and help solve important challenges.”

IBM also announced that it will join with MIT to issue a call for proposals on ideas for joint research in several areas including:

• AI algorithms
• Physics of AI
• Application of AI to industries
• Advancing shared prosperity through AI

For more information, visit MITIBMWatsonAILab.mit.edu.