Vector Institute

�鶹ֱ��app’s Geoffrey Hinton delivers Nobel lecture alongside co-laureate

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:48:27 +0000

�鶹ֱ��app’s Geoffrey Hinton delivers Nobel lecture alongside co-laureate

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 12/09/2024 - 15:48

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�鶹ֱ��app's Geoffrey Hinton, left, and John J. Hopfield of Princeton University, right, who share the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, shake hands after their Nobel lectures in Stockholm (photo by Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Leah Cowen

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

In Stockholm for a series of Nobel Week events, the “godfather of AI” will officially accept his Nobel Prize in Physics at a ceremony on Dec. 10

The University of Toronto’s Geoffrey Hinton took to the stage at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm this weekend – two days before he officially accepts his Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in AI – to deliver a lecture on the inventions and discoveries that led to him being given the prestigious award.

“Today, I’m going to do something very foolish – I’m going to try and describe a complicated technical idea for a general audience, without using any equations,” said Hinton, a �鶹ֱ��app University Professor emeritus of computer science, prompting laughter from the audience.

The “godfather of AI” then proceeded to outline how decades of his fundamental research, and that of his co-laureate John J. Hopfield of Princeton University, enabled the development of artificial neural networks and machine learning – technologies that underpin today’s AI revolution.

The Nobel lectures are among the highlights of Nobel Week, which runs from Dec. 6-12 in Stockholm and Oslo and includes award ceremonies, banquets, media engagements and commemorations at the Nobel Museum. There is also a series of Nobel Week events taking place at �鶹ֱ��app, including watch parties on all three campuses for the livestream of the Dec. 10 award ceremony.

Sunday’s first Nobel Prize lecture in physics was delivered by Hopfield, who shared how his fascination with the workings of the human brain inspired his development of the Hopfield network – an associative memory that can store and reconstruct patterns in data.

“How mind emerges from brain is, to me, the deepest question posed by our humanity,” Hopfield said.

When it was Hinton’s turn to take the stage, he described how he and Terry Sejnowski – one of Hopfield’s students – came upon a novel use of Hopfield nets: “Instead of using them to store memories, we could use them to construct interpretations of sensory input,” Hinton said.

He then went on to discuss the resulting Boltzmann machine, a type of neural network that is capable of recognizing elements within data.

Hinton discusses the significance of the Boltzmann machine (photo by �鶹ֱ��app staff)

Yet, despite its promise, the original Boltzmann machine was too slow, Hinton said, and it wasn’t until several years later that he came up with “restricted Boltzmann machines,” which impose limitations on connections between neurons in order to increase system efficiency – a development that would prove pivotal in training deep neural networks (Hinton donated an early Boltzmann chip, about the size of a postage stamp, to the Nobel Prize Museum).

Following the lecture, Hinton was joined on stage by Hopfield, with the pair sharing a vigorous handshake and posing for photos.

�鶹ֱ��app brought together a panel of experts in Stockholm to discuss AI research and development (photo by Jonas Borg)

Separately, �鶹ֱ��app convened an expert panel in Stockholm on Monday about the direction of AI research and development.

Moderated by Leah Cowen, �鶹ֱ��app’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, the panel included: Eyal de Lara, a professor and chair of the department of computer science in �鶹ֱ��app’s Faculty of Arts & Science; David Lie, director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering; Tony Gaffney, president and CEO of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence; and Amy Loutfi, professor of computer science and pro-vice-chancellor for AI at Örebro University in Sweden.

The conversation touched on areas including the promising applications of AI, how responsible deployment of AI can mitigate the technology’s potential pitfalls and implications of AI’s rise on education.

�鶹ֱ��app President Meric Gertler said that the AI breakthroughs fostered by Hinton’s research were made possible by Canada’s longstanding support of basic research.

“Geoff was interested in the novel but unproven concept of artificial neural networks, an area that was sometimes described as the ‘unpromising backwater’ of AI research,” President Gertler said in his remarks introducing the panel, noting that Hinton joined �鶹ֱ��app in 1987 and was one of the first scholars to receive support from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

“Canada was investing in brilliant people, their ideas and their students – and those investments have paid off many years later.”

Canada was also the first country to launch a national AI roadmap, President Gertler said, in the form of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy – which funds three national AI institutes including the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which is now housed in �鶹ֱ��app’s new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. The state-of-the-art building also hosts the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, which is at the forefront of research and thought leadership on AI safety and responsible development, with Hinton one of its advisory board members.

“In short, Canada has played a key role in launching and driving the AI revolution and we’re a world leader in understanding and promoting safe, human-centred AI,” President Gertler said.

The theme of responsible AI was also brought up during a Q-and-A with Hinton, who revealed that the remarkable information-sharing abilities of large language models played a big role in sparking his now oft-repeated concerns around the current pace of the technology’s development.

“That’s when I came to realize that the fact that they’re so much better at sharing probably means that digital intelligence is just a better form of intelligence than us – and that’s what got me so worried,” he said.

Asked what responsible AI regulation looks like, Hinton said there must first be a consensus around solving the problem from a scientific standpoint – not unlike the scientific consensus that has emerged around climate change.

“Like the early days of climate change, the first thing to do is figure out what’s causing it and get scientific agreement on how you can fix it. Then, the second thing to do is get the politicians to do something about it … but here, we haven’t finished the first thing yet.”

Geoffrey Hinton shares 2024 VinFuture Grand Prize for work on deep learning

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 19:32:41 +0000

Geoffrey Hinton shares 2024 VinFuture Grand Prize for work on deep learning

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 12/06/2024 - 14:32

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(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Leah Cowen

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Artificial Intelligence

Awards

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

Geoffrey Hinton

Research & Innovation

Vector Institute

Subheadline

Known as the "godfather of AI," Hinton was one of five people honoured with the US$3-million prize awarded by Vietnam's VinFuture Foundation

Geoffrey Hinton, University Professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto and winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, has added another prestigious award to his collection: the 2024 VinFuture Grand Prize.

The US$3-million prize, awarded by the not-for-profit VinFuture Foundation in Vietnam, recognizes seminal scientific advancements that are improving the quality of human life and forging a more equitable and sustainable world.

Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” shares the prize with Yoshua Bengio, Jen-Hsun (Jensen) Huang, Yann LeCun and Fei-Fei Li. The five are honoured for their contributions to the development and adoption of deep learning, which is revolutionizing fields ranging from biomedical research and transportation to manufacturing, clean energy and agriculture.

“The University of Toronto couldn’t be more proud of University Professor Emeritus Geoff Hinton,” said Leah Cowen, �鶹ֱ��app’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “When Geoff arrived at �鶹ֱ��app nearly 40 years ago, his research into neural networks – influenced by his ideas about how the brain learns – was considered an AI backwater, if it was considered at all.

“Fast-forward to today, and his seminal work is transforming our world in ways that we’ve only begun to grasp. This award is a testament to the power of curiosity-driven research – and the impact of investing in brilliant, curious researchers.”

The VinFuture Foundation noted that Hinton and Bengio – a professor at the Université de Montréal – were awarded the prize for their research on neural networks and deep learning algorithms. LeCun, the chief AI scientist for Facebook AI Research who was one of Hinton’s post-doctoral students at �鶹ֱ��app in the1980s, was recognized for helping develop convolutional neural networks for computer vision. Huang, the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA, was recognized for his work on computational architectures for deep learning and accelerated computing, while Li, a professor at Stanford University, was celebrated for contributions to computer vision and large-scale image recognition.

In a video message, Hinton, an adviser at �鶹ֱ��app’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society who is also co-founder and chief scientific adviser at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Toronto, said he was honoured to share the award with such an esteemed group of researchers – including his fellow A.M Turing Award-winners Bengio and LeCun.

“The three of us spent our whole lives developing the technology of neural networks,” Hinton said in remarks that noted the collective nature of the achievement.

“I’m very happy to see that the VinFuture Prize recognizes the contributions of Jensen Huang in developing the kind of compute and software required for artificial intelligence, and Fei-Fei Li in providing the big data that was needed to prove that it worked.”

Now in its fourth year, the VinFuture Prize was created with the goal of celebrating scientific and technological innovations that are aligned with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which include poverty alleviation, renewable energy, ending hunger and improving health.

Friday’s award ceremony was attended by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and distinguished leaders, scientists and diplomats from around the world. It was broadcast live on Vietnamese television and streamed online.

“It’s terrific to see this recognition of Geoff’s extraordinary work and its potential to help address some of the world’s greatest challenges,” said Cowen. “Researchers around the globe – including a number of his former students – are using AI to help solve some of the most pressing challenges of our time in areas such as health care, sustainability and climate change.”

The prize comes as Hinton prepares to officially accept his Nobel Prize in Physics in Sweden on Dec. 10. He shared the Nobel with John J. Hopfield of Princeton University for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.

Hinton, who joined �鶹ֱ��app in 1987 after working in universities in the U.K. and U.S., has said that he plans to leverage his growing fame to spread awareness of the dangers of unchecked AI development – a warning he first shared after leaving a research position at Google in early 2023.

‘One of the great minds of the 21st century’: �鶹ֱ��app celebrates Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 17:24:21 +0000

‘One of the great minds of the 21st century’: �鶹ֱ��app celebrates Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 10/17/2024 - 13:24

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University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, attends a celebration event held at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus (photo by Mac Pattanasuttinont)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

Leah Cowen

Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus

Wesley Hall

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Artificial Intelligence

CIFAR

Department of Computer Science

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

The 2024 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics - known to many as the "godfather of AI" - was honoured at an event attended by a who's who of the Toronto research community

There were standing ovations, peals of laughter and even a few tears as the University of Toronto welcomed Geoffrey Hinton back to campus after he won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics.

A University Professor Emeritus of computer science, Hinton traded the “cheap hotel room in California,” where he received the life-changing news, for an emotional reception in the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus’s airy event hall.

The Oct. 10 event drew �鶹ֱ��app leaders, supporters, dignitaries and other luminaries. They included Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986, and Massey College Principal James Orbinski, who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Doctors Without Borders in 1999.

Several of Hinton’s many collaborators and proteges also attended the event – not to mention students who were simply eager to catch a glimpse of the “godfather of AI.”

Hinton chats with �鶹ֱ��app Scarborough Professor David Fleet and Google Research Scientists Sara Sabour and Daniel Watson (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Though sleep deprived, Hinton regaled the audience with fond recollections of his early years as an AI researcher, snapshots of his trademark dry humour and warm expressions of gratitude for mentors, collaborators and, of course, his many students.

“I’ve been blessed to have brilliant graduate students and post-docs,” Hinton said.

“I had a principle when selecting graduate students: ‘If they’re not smarter than me, what’s the point?’ And I’ve had quite a number of graduate students who were smarter than me.

“They did things I wouldn’t have been able to do, so I’d like to thank them.”

He said two figures in particular played a huge role in the work that led to his Nobel Prize, which he shared with Princeton University’s John J. Hopfield. The first was Terry Sejnowsky, a computational neuroscientist and former student of Hopfield’s, who worked with Hinton on Boltzmann machines – a period Hinton described as “the most happy research time of my life.”

He also praised the contributions of the late David Rumelhart, a psychologist at Stanford University, who worked with him to develop backpropagation algorithms, a key breakthrough.

“[He] should have won the Nobel Prize,” Hinton said. “But unfortunately, Dave got a horrible brain disease and he died quite young.” (The Nobel organization doesn’t award the honour posthumously).

Hinton poses for a picture with Assistant Professor Chris Maddison, who was one of the last graduate students Hinton supervised (photo by Mac Pattanasuttinont)

Chris Maddison joined Hinton’s research group as an undergraduate and was one of the last students he supervised. Now an assistant professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s departments of computer science and statistical sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Maddison lauded Hinton as “a steadfast mentor and supporter who saw strength in me that I didn’t see” and said one of his greatest attributes was his sheer enthusiasm.

“No matter what’s going on, you can find him in the lab on Sundays at 8 p.m. playing with his MATLAB scripts like a child playing with Legos,” Maddison said. “He never lost that child-like sense of wonder that buoyed him and the group.”

�鶹ֱ��app President Meric Gertler said, via video message from Indonesia, where he was on university business, that Hinton is “one of the great minds of the 21st century” (photo by Johnny Guatto)

�鶹ֱ��app President Meric Gertler, who was in Indonesia on university business when the prize was announced, hailed Hinton in a video message as “one of the great minds of the 21st century” and someone who “literally created new ways of thinking about thinking and learning.”

He noted that Hinton’s AI leadership extends to the pressing question of responsible and safe development of the technology.

“With his Nobel win, he’s now perfectly positioned to amplify this concern on a world stage.” President Gertler said.

Hinton shares a laugh with University Professor Molly Shoichet of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (photo by Johnny Guatto)

The event’s guest list served as a reminder of Hinton’s outsized influence on the research community in Toronto and beyond, drawing key figures from: the Vector Institute, where Hinton is co-founder and chief scientific adviser; the Schwartz Reisman Institute of Technology and Society, where he sits on the advisory board; and CIFAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research), where Hinton is an adviser and longtime fellow.

Hinton poses for a photo with Leah Cowen, �鶹ֱ��app’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Leah Cowen, �鶹ֱ��app’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, reminded the accomplished audience that Hinton’s historic achievement – both the Nobel Prize and the AI revolution he helped spark – was the result of years toiling in an “unpromising backwater” of AI research.

“It is tempting to think that it happened almost overnight, but it didn’t,” Cowen said.

University Professors Emeriti – and fellow Nobel Prize-winners – Geoffrey Hinton and John Polanyi have their photo taken together (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Hinton took time to reflect on periods of personal struggle and tragedy – and thank those who helped him in his hour of need.

When his wife had an incurable form of cancer, he recalled how �鶹ֱ��app President Emeritus David Naylor, a physician, medical researcher and former dean of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, carried out research on a possible alternative treatment that was being explored – incorporating input from top medical experts – and presented him with a report of his findings.

“He’s a tremendous human being,” Hinton said of Naylor, who was in the audience.

Hinton shares a moment with �鶹ֱ��app President Emeritus David Naylor (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Hinton also recalled how, when his first wife became ill in 1993 – also with cancer – his post-doctoral trainee Peter Dayan, now a director at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, stepped in to advise Hinton’s graduate students, giving him time to care for his ailing spouse.

“At times like this, you remember the people who helped you most when things were very difficult,” Hinton said.

He later pointed out that Dayan went on to supervise one of this year’s winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Demis Hassabis, joking that this made Dayan “the meat in a Nobel sandwich.”

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada was lucky to have Hinton, who was born in the U.K., and thanked his daughter for sharing her father with the country, with science and the world (photo by Johnny Guatto)

For Minister Freeland, Hinton’s award showcased the value of ideas and of fundamental research. She said Hinton’s Nobel Prize sent waves of pride across Canada, which she said was “lucky as a country” that Hinton arrived on its shores back in 1987.

“Geoff shows that you can be a really brilliant intellectual and also a really great human being who cares about his community and his country,” Freeland said. “I am constantly struck by how Geoff thinks about the bigger implications of his ideas and how Geoff thinks about really wanting to make Canada and the world a better place.”

Hinton chats with Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, who thanked him for his friendship and mentorship – and his dedication to science and scholarship (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Following the program – which also featured remarks by �鶹ֱ��app Chancellor Wes Hall, Faculty of Arts & Science Dean Melanie Woodin and Christine Szustaczek, �鶹ֱ��app’s vice-president, communications – Hinton mingled with members of the audience, shook hands with students and caught up with former colleagues and trainees.

Clockwise from top left: Christine Szustaczek, Wes Hall, Chris Maddison, Leah Cowen, Geoffrey Hinton and Melanie Woodin (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Brendan Frey, professor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and CEO of AI-powered therapeutics startup Deep Genomics, said he was one of many who earned his PhD under Hinton’s supervision.

“I think of Geoff as the father of a community that includes myself, other graduate students and all the people who didn’t believe but then came to believe – and he inspired all of us,” said Frey, who shared a hug with his former supervisor following the event.

“I’m really happy for him.”

Congratulations pour in for Geoffrey Hinton after Nobel win

mattimar — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 19:43:16 +0000

Congratulations pour in for Geoffrey Hinton after Nobel win

mattimar Tue, 10/08/2024 - 15:43

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(Photo by Johnny Guatto/University of Toronto)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Our Community

Alumni

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

University Health Network

Vector Institute

Subheadline

“You always knew when Geoff had a new idea. The excitement, the joy radiated out of his office down the hall. The air was buzzing with possibility"

Reactions to Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize win began almost immediately after it was announced Tuesday morning.

Known as the “godfather of AI,” the University Professor Emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with John J. Hopfield of Princeton University for groundbreaking work that laid the foundation for machine learning using artificial neural networks.

�鶹ֱ��app’s Geoffrey Hinton and Princeton’s John J. Hopfield are pictured during the announcement for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics (photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)

At �鶹ֱ��app, students, faculty and staff gathered at an event hosted by the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, which Hinton joined as a professor in 1987.

Those in attendance described a revered and beloved figure, citing Hinton’s determination, playful approach to research and excitement for new ideas.

"I really don’t think there’s anyone more deserving of this recognition," said Chris Maddison, assistant professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s departments of computer science and statistical sciences, and one of Hinton’s former students.

"Geoff was a fantastic adviser. He worked really, really hard to remove the barriers for his students and he was laser focused on ideas and building his own understanding."

Hinton also received congratulations from universities and other research organizations around the world, including the Royal Society, the Alan Turing Institute and Cambridge University, Hinton’s alma mater.

Meanwhile, friends, colleagues and leaders in politics and business took to social media to express their congratulations for Hinton’s remarkable achievement.

Here’s a snapshot of what some of them said:

From left: Melanie Woodin, Chris Maddison, Nick Frosst, Kevin Swersky and Eyal de Lara (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Congratulations to Geoffrey Hinton on this fantastic recognition which is a testament to the importance of supporting basic research and the long journey that can lead to profound discoveries like deep learning that forever change our world. Hinton's phenomenal work has seeded new and innovative research by his former students and many around the world who are using AI to solve global challenges in areas like medicine and climate change.“

– Leah Cowen, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives at �鶹ֱ��app

“I would say his approach to science has stuck with me. Everything I know about how to do science, I mostly learned from him. It's his curiosity and playfulness ... that has been most impactful. I would also say his thoughtfulness, thinking about the consequence of the technology and how it affects society is something that we have taken seriously at Cohere as well.”

– Nick Frosst, �鶹ֱ��app alumnus and co-founder of Cohere

“You always knew when Geoff had a new idea. The excitement, the joy radiated out of his office down the hall. The air was buzzing with possibility. He was famous for bursting into a room and pronouncing that, he now finally, after all these years, understood how the brain worked. Above all, he understood that research was a human endeavor. Research is really hard. It becomes personal. It's intertwined with tragedies and compromises. I saw him go through some of his own when I was a student in the group, and I went through my own. I remember when I was going through some health challenges, I went to him and I said, 'Geoff, sometimes it's really hard to go on.’ And he looked at me and he said, ’But we're not going to let that slow us down, will we?’"

– Chris Maddison, assistant professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s departments of computer science and statistical sciences, Faculty of Arts & Science

�鶹ֱ��app is the only computer science department with a Nobel Prize winner, says Professor Michael Brudno (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate an award for somebody who has made huge contributions – obviously in AI broadly, [and] to this department. No other computer science department can say that they have a Nobel Laureate. But I think beyond that, it really goes back to show how the birthplace of modern AI is Toronto, how this is the place where it all started and how it's upon us as the AI faculty in this department to continue this legacy.”

– Michael Brudno, professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science, acting vice-dean, graduate education in Faculty of Arts & Science, a chief data scientist at University Health Network and a faculty member at the Vector Institute

Geoffrey Hinton shares a laugh with fellow AI researcher Raquel Urtasun, left, at the Vector Institute’s opening in 2017 (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

"Geoff is the most influential person in AI, and our field would certainly not be the same without his immense contributions. He is also a tremendous educator, and has mentored many students and postdocs who have gone on to become very influential in the field of AI. Geoff cares deeply about the Toronto and Canadian ecosystem and was the driving force in the formation of the Vector Institute, which we co-founded together. Through our time as colleagues at the University of Toronto, I've deeply admired his commitment to the advancement of AI for good. This recognition is well-deserved and acknowledges his decades of work leading AI innovation and building the foundation for the AI revolution that is happening today.”

– Raquel Urtasun, professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science, faculty member and co-founder at the Vector Institute, founder and CEO of Waabi

“I was the first to call Geoff Hinton “Godfather of Deep Learning,” which later became “Godfather of AI.” Thrilled to see him win the Nobel prize together with John Hopfield for AI. Congrats @geoffreyhinton.”

– Andrew Ng, co-founder of Coursera, founder GoogleBrain, former chief scientist at Baidu

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Geoffrey Hinton at a 2019 event (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

“Dr. Hinton is a stalwart in his field. Celebrated as one of the ‘Godfathers of AI’, he brings decades of leading expertise in AI research as a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto’s Department of Computer Science, and the current Chief Scientific Advisor at the Vector Institute in Toronto – one of our three national AI institutes. Dr. Hinton is also an outspoken advocate for the responsible development and adoption of AI, educating the world about the benefits and challenges this technology poses.

“Canada is at the forefront of AI technology thanks to trailblazers like Dr. Hinton. His curiosity for discovery and contributions to innovation will inspire generations to come. On behalf of all Canadians, I congratulate him on his remarkable achievement.”

– Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

A.M. Turing Award winners Yann LeCun, left, Yoshua Bengio, middle, and Geoffrey Hinton at an AI summit in Montreal (photo courtesy of RE•WORK)

"@HopfieldJohn and @geoffreyhinton, along with collaborators, have created a beautiful and insightful bridge between physics and AI. They invented neural networks that were not only inspired by the brain, but also by central notions in physics such as energy, temperature, system dynamics, energy barriers, the role of randomness and noise, connecting the local properties, e.g., of atoms or neurons, to global ones like entropy and attractors. And they went beyond the physics to show how these ideas could give rise to memory, learning and generative models; concepts which are still at the forefront of modern AI research. Their ideas inspired me so profoundly that I decided to choose learning in neural networks for my own research as a graduate student. They motivated me to look for abstract principles that could be as simple as the laws of physics, but could explain biological as well as artificial intelligence. I'm truly delighted for them and for our field."

– Yoshua Bengio, professor at Université de Montréal and co-winner of the A.M Turing Award with Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun

“It was the first thing I saw in the morning. I opened my phone, and it was the headline of The New York Times and I was like, ‘Yes!’ I was very excited. I saw his perseverance – he always goes with what he believes, not what the flow is – and it's quite inspirational for me. That’s what I look for, especially in the health care area. I want to do something meaningful, something big.”

–Tina Behrouzi, second year PhD student in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science

Geoffrey Hinton poses with graduate students Ilya Sutskever, left, and Alex Krizhevsky, right, in 2013 (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Congratulations to @geoffreyhinton for winning the Nobel Prize in physics!!”

– Ilya Sutskever, �鶹ֱ��app alumnus, co-founder of OpenAI and co-founder and chief scientist at Safe Superintelligence

“Going to Geoff’s office was always fun. Normally when you go to a supervisor's office, you give them a progress update. You go through what your latest results are, you talk about a couple of your ideas and you get some feedback. Going to Geoff’s office was a completely different story. He would be telling you what his latest idea was. He would show you his latest results. And his whole thing was just that he was really excited about it, and his hope was to inspire you enough to start running with it.”

– Kevin Swersky, �鶹ֱ��app alumnus and research scientist at Google DeepMind

“[Hinton's] pioneering research at the University of Toronto not only revolutionized the field of AI but has also been instrumental in establishing Canada as a global powerhouse in AI research and innovation."

– Tony Gaffney, president and CEO of the Vector Institute

Fei-Fei Li and Geoffrey Hinton speak at a 2023 event in Toronto (photo by Polina Teif)

“This is beyond exciting! #AI’s far reaching impact is just beginning.”

– Fei-Fei Li, professor of computer science at Stanford University and co-director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute

“Congratulations to @geoffreyhinton, University Professor Emeritus at@UofT, on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics! Widely regarded as the “godfather of AI,” Hinton’s pioneering work in artificial neural networks has transformed the global AI landscape. Dr. Hinton’s achievement highlights the best of #Ontario’s world-class talent and thriving AI ecosystem, driving innovation and shaping the future of critical #technology!

– Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade

"On behalf of the Department and the University, we are very proud to acknowledge Geoff's global achievements and this international recognition. His contributions to machine learning and artificial intelligence have benefited virtually every discipline in science, engineering, social sciences and medicine. As we celebrate the department’s 60th anniversary, this award embodies six decades of impact and innovation in computer science and technology.”

– Eyal de Lara, professor and chair of �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science, Faculty of Arts & Science

“Heartfelt congratulations to Geoff Hinton @geoffreyhinton on winning the Nobel Prize! What an incredible honor! I feel deeply privileged to have had the opportunity to be your PhD student, work with you, and learn from you.”

– Russ Salakhutdinov, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University

Hinton approached his research with an “almost childlike playfulness,” says Graduate student Ujan Sen (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Waking up today, seeing that news, just motivates me even more and reaffirms the decision that coming to �鶹ֱ��app was the absolutely the best decision I could have taken. I think one of the people who had previously worked with him mentioned something along the lines of: Geoff didn't really care too much about pedigree. He cared about ideas, regardless if you have a master's or PhD. And the way he approached his research and the almost childlike playfulness and innocence he had with sort of getting to the answer is something that I really resonate with.”

– Ujan Sen, master’s student in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science, Faculty of Arts & Science

"I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Geoffrey Hinton on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. His groundbreaking work in machine learning has made Canada world-renowned in the field of AI. He is a true inspiration for the next generation of Canadian researchers!"

– François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry

“I’m originally a chemist. It was a surprising thing for me that a Nobel Prize is being awarded to a computer scientist. This is a big moment for computer science. I think it will bring recognition to physics-based approaches and core thinking.

“I think it’s great that some universities like �鶹ֱ��app are willing to believe in crazy ideas. People need to encourage outside-the-box thinking.”

– Ella Rajaonson, PhD student in the Matter Lab with �鶹ֱ��app professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik

“Congratulations!”

– Olivia Chow, mayor of Toronto

�鶹ֱ��app experts tackle questions about AI safety, ethics during panel discussion

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 18:33:43 +0000

�鶹ֱ��app experts tackle questions about AI safety, ethics during panel discussion

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 10/02/2024 - 14:33

Cutline

From left: �鶹ֱ��app's Roger Grosse, Sedef Kocak, Sheila McIlraith and Karina Vold take part in a panel discussion on AI safety (photo by Duane Cole)

Kyle Coulter

Jovana Jankovic

Topic

Our Community

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

The Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology

Artificial Intelligence

Centre for Ethics

Department of Computer Science

Department of Philosophy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Vector Institute

Victoria College

Subheadline

"We should be building AI systems that promote human flourishing – that allow human beings to live with dignity and purpose, and to be valued contributors to society”

What does safe artificial intelligence look like? Could AI go rogue and pose an existential threat to humanity? How have media portrayals of AI influenced people’s perceptions of the technology’s benefits and risks?

These were among the pressing questions tackled by four experts at the University of Toronto and its partner institutions – in disciplines ranging from computer science to philosophy – during a recent panel discussion on AI safety.

Sheila McIlraith, professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science at the Faculty of Arts & Science and Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, said the notion of AI safety evokes different things to different people.

“Computer scientists often think about safety critical systems – the types of systems that we’ve built to send astronauts to the moon or control our nuclear power plants – but AI safety is actually quite different,” said McIlraith, an associate director at the �鶹ֱ��app’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society (SRI).

“For me personally, I have a higher bar, and I really think we should be building AI systems that promote human flourishing – that allow human beings to live with dignity and purpose, and to be valued contributors to society.”

The event, hosted by SRI in partnership with the Vector Institute, the Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology, the Centre for Ethics and Victoria College, invited McIlraith and her fellow panelists to discuss how AI technologies can be aligned with human values in an increasingly automated world.

They also discussed how risks surrounding the technology can be mitigated in different sectors.

Karina Vold, the event’s moderator, underscored the challenge of building safe AI systems in an uncertain world (photo by Duane Cole)

Moderator, Karina Vold, assistant professor in the Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, noted that because AI systems operate “in a world filled with uncertainty and volatility, the challenge of building safe and reliable AI is not easy and mitigation strategies vary widely.”

She proceeded to ask the panel to share their thoughts on the portrayal of AI in popular culture.

“The media devotes more attention to different aspects of AI – the social, philosophical, maybe even psychological,” said Sedef Kocak, director of AI professional development at the Vector Institute.

“These narratives are important to help show the potential fears, as well as the positive potential of the technology.”

The discussion touched on several topics related to AI safety (photo by Duane Cole)

Roger Grosse, associate professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and a founding member of the Vector Institute, said that safety concerns around AI are not merely rooted in science and pop culture, but also in philosophy.

“Many people think that the public’s concerns regarding AI risks come from sci-fi, but I think the early reasoning regarding AI risks actually has its roots in philosophy,” said Grosse, who also holds Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society.

“If we’re trying to reason about AI systems that don’t yet exist, we don’t have the empirical information, and don’t yet know what their design would be, what we can do is come up with various thought experiments. For example, what if we designed an AI that has some specific role, and all of the actions that it takes are in service of the role?

“For the last decade, a lot of the reasons for being concerned about the long-term existential risks really came from this careful philosophical reasoning.”

The discussion also touched on the dangers of AI models misaligning themselves, how to guard against bias in the training of large language models, and how to ensure that AI models with potentially catastrophic capabilities are safeguarded.

“This [safeguarding] is an area where new research ideas and principles will be required to make the case,” said Grosse. “Developers saying, ‘Trust us’ is not sufficient. It’s not a good foundation for policy.”

Despite addressing topics surrounding potential harms and risks of AI, the panelists also shared their optimism about how AI can be wielded for the greater good – with Grosse noting AI offers the promise of making knowledge more widely accessible, and Kocak focusing on the myriad benefits for industries.

Watch the Sept. 10 conversation below:

Waabi, founded by �鶹ֱ��app's Raquel Urtasun, raises US$200 million to launch self-driving trucks

lanthierj — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 20:26:16 +0000

Waabi, founded by �鶹ֱ��app's Raquel Urtasun, raises US$200 million to launch self-driving trucks

lanthierj Wed, 06/19/2024 - 16:26

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Artificial Intelligence

Department of Computer Science

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Arts & Science

Waabi, a self-driving trucking startup founded by University of Toronto artificial intelligence (AI) expert Raquel Urtasun, has raised US$200 million in series B funding to support the deployment of fully autonomous, AI-powered trucks in 2025.

The funding round was led by previous investors Uber Technologies Inc.– where Urtasun previously worked as chief scientist of the self-driving division – and Khosla Ventures and includes an array of other high-profile strategic investors including NVIDIA Corp., Volvo Group and Porsche Automobil Holding.

The latest funding brings total investment in Waabi to more than C$380 million and will be used to expand the Toronto-headquartered company’s team in both Canada and the U.S., as well as to launch driverless commercial deliveries in Texas by next year.

(photo Nick Iwanyshyn)

Urtasun, a professor in the department of computer science at �鶹ֱ��app’s Faculty of Arts & Science and co-founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, said Waabi’s end-to-end AI system is advancing self-driving technologies to frontiers beyond the reach of other industry players thanks to its unique ability to carry out complex reasoning.

“What we have at Waabi is a technology that brings generative AI to the physical world for the first time, where the idea is that you have a single AI system that is able to reason like a human does, and is able to generalize to situations everything that might happen on the road – including things that it has never seen before,” she said.

“It does so in a way that is interpretable, so you can validate and verify the system, and provably safe, which is very important as you deploy these massive robots in the real world.”

Paired with Waabi’s advanced simulator, the AI system reduces the need for time-consuming road testing, Urtasun explained.

The announcement came hours before Urtasun took to the main stage at the Collision tech conference in Toronto to deliver a talk on generative AI. Her remarks touched on the technological underpinnings of generative AI and future applications, and outlined how Waabi is bringing generative AI to the physical world – starting with trucking.

Raquel Urtasun at the 2024 edition of Collision (photo by Polina Teif)

Urtasun is one of several experts from �鶹ֱ��app’s technology, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem who are speaking at Collision. Others include University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, a world-renowned AI luminary and investor in Waabi.

“Self-driving technology is a prime example of how AI can dramatically improve our lives,” Hinton said in a news release. “Raquel and Waabi are at the forefront of innovation, developing a revolutionary approach that radically changes the way autonomous systems work and leads to safer and more efficient solutions.”

Earlier in the week, Urtasun brought one of Waabi’s trucks to the St. George campus and showcased some of its capabilities to Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tony Gaffney, president and CEO of the Vector Institute, and Michael Brudno, professor in the department of computer science and chief data scientist at the University Health Network.

From left: Melanie Woodin, Raquel Urtasun, Tony Gaffney and Michael Brudno (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Urtasun underscored the importance of the company being headquartered in Toronto. “We’re an AI company and Toronto has always been at the forefront of AI,” Urtasun said. “There’s tremendous talent here, a busy ecosystem, and for me it’s important to be in Canada, where I’m very aligned with the values of the country as well.”

Reflecting on her journey at �鶹ֱ��app, where she started as an assistant professor in 2014, Urtasun said she initially assumed she would “just be an academic doing research for the rest of my life” – but soon realized that involvement in industry would be critical to advancing AI technologies for use in the real world.

“Three years ago, I saw a tremendous opportunity to start a new company and what you see today is the fruit of that, where we’re really close to deployment on public roads without a human [driver],” said Urtasun.

“It’s amazing – not just for Waabi, not just for Canada, but for the industry at large.”

AI safety, cybersecurity experts take on key roles at Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:18:33 +0000

AI safety, cybersecurity experts take on key roles at Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/14/2024 - 11:18

Cutline

From left to right: David Duvenaud and Roger Grosse have been appointed Schwartz Reisman Chairs in Technology and Society; David Lie has been appointed director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society (supplied images)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Our Community

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Law

Research & Innovation

Vector Institute

Subheadline

Roger Grosse and David Duvenaud named Schwartz Reisman Chairs in Technology and Society, while David Lie becomes the institute’s new director

A leading expert in cybersecurity and two renowned AI safety researchers are set to take on leading roles at the University of Toronto’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society.

David Lie, who is known for his seminal work that led to modern trusted execution processor architectures, has been named the new director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute (SRI), which aims to explore and address the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

His four-year appointment, which takes effect July 1, coincides with two renowned experts in AI safety – Roger Grosse and David Duvenaud – being named Schwartz Reisman Chairs in Technology and Society for five-year terms.

“I think one of the top priorities is ensuring that SRI and �鶹ֱ��app are the primary places in Canada – and perhaps in the world – for AI safety discussion and research,” says Lie, a professor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering.

“My vision is to make us one of the leaders. Canada has already contributed greatly to machine learning and AI through the contributions of previous scholars like [University Professor Emeritus] Geoffrey Hinton, and I think we have a very strong role to play in this important technology going forward.”

The appointments come as inaugural director and chair Gillian Hadfield prepares to conclude her term as chair this month (she stepped down as director at the end of last year). The institute, created following a historic gift in 2019 from business leaders Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman, brings together experts from disciplines across �鶹ֱ��app’s three campuses to steer AI development to prioritize safety and human welfare.

“We are thrilled to welcome David Lie, Roger Grosse and David Duvenaud to their new roles at the Schwartz Reisman Institute,” says Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “Their expertise and leadership will be instrumental in fostering the interdisciplinary collaboration needed for the University of Toronto to remain at the forefront of technological innovation that benefits humanity.”

Lie, who has served as a research lead at SRI and holds cross-appointments in the department of computer science and the Faculty of Law, says his decades of research on making computer systems more secure and trustworthy – including contributions to computer architecture, formal verification, techniques using operating systems and networking – have equipped him to tackle the complex issues posed by AI, which will require researchers to anticipate and adapt to the unexpected.

“As AI become more powerful, they may do things – or are already doing things – that we didn’t anticipate or expect,” says Lie. “Bringing cybersecurity skills, thinking and tools into the AI safety discussion will be absolutely critical to solving the problem.”

Lie emphasizes that interdisciplinary collaboration is key to addressing potential AI disruption, noting that it has been pivotal in his own research and other roles.

His current research focuses on securing mobile platforms, cloud computing security and bridging the divide between technology and policy. He is also an associate director at the Data Sciences Institute, a �鶹ֱ��app institutional strategic initiative, a faculty affiliate at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and a senior fellow at Massey College.

“It’s really one of the things that I love about a place like �鶹ֱ��app, because it's big and you have experts in every imaginable field to collaborate with,” he says. “I feel very strongly that we can always accomplish way more together than we can individually. That's true for people, but that's also true for disciplines.”

As incoming Schwartz Reisman Chairs in Technology and Society, Grosse and Duvenaud have vital roles to play in driving SRI’s research agenda and sharing its findings with the world, says Lie.

“One of the main ways universities contribute to society is through research, but we also contribute through discourse; we contribute by translating knowledge and providing that to policymakers, decision-makers and stakeholders,” he says. “I see SRI playing an important part in these roles.”

Both Grosse and Duvenaud are associate professors of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, faculty affiliates at SRI, founding members of the Vector Institute and Canada CIFAR AI chairs – and both are working at San Francisco-based Anthropic, a research company focused on AI safety and alignment.

Grosse, whose research applies our understanding of deep learning to the safety and alignment of AI systems, says academia has an essential role to play in guiding AI development by looking beyond short-term incentives to ask how these technologies can be safely and ethically integrated for the long-term benefit of humanity.

“I'm very excited to be able to understand and mitigate catastrophic risks from AI, to be part of an interdisciplinary community that's especially well positioned to make progress in these issues, and I really appreciate the leadership that donors are showing and supporting this work,” he says.

“I think academia is great for being able to ask the more fundamental questions, to carry out maybe more forward-looking research that might not be directly on a company's critical path, but will contribute to safety efforts at many different organizations.”

Duvenaud’s research, meanwhile, focuses on probabilistic deep learning, artificial general intelligence governance and dangerous capabilities evaluation.

He envisions SRI as a “centre of gravity” where academics, industry members, government leaders and other stakeholders can engage with each other and shape the future of AI technologies.

“The idea is that by having this institute dedicated to this direction, we’ll be able to do things like host visitors and engage with academics from all sorts of disciplines –such as law, economics, and other parts of civil society – so that, ultimately, when policy discussions come up, we’ll be equipped and credible as people who can help governments navigate these decisions,” says Duvenaud, who is cross appointed to the department of statistical sciences.

Sheila McIlraith, an associate director and research lead at SRI, professor of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, underlines the importance of rallying diverse disciplinary experts from across �鶹ֱ��app to address the opportunities and challenges that AI will wield in the coming years.

“AI is no longer the sole purview of computer scientists. It is reshaping the way we live, work, and interact with each other, and it will take experts from a broad range of disciplines to help ensure that AI is developed and deployed for the benefit of humanity, and that Canada adapts swiftly to protect our institutions," says McIlraith, who is an expert in AI safety research herself.

“Threats are already upon us; now is the time to act.”

What Now? AI, Episode 4: AI and Creativity

mattimar — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:22:39 +0000

What Now? AI, Episode 4: AI and Creativity mattimar Thu, 04/25/2024 - 17:22

Topic

Our Community

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

What Now? AI

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Alumni

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Information

Startups

�鶹ֱ��app Mississauga

Vector Institute

The creative industry is poised to be forever changed by artificial intelligence.

Writing tools like ChatGPT and image generators like Midjourney and DALL-E have exploded into the mainstream. Adobe built its own version of generative AI technology for its creative suites and OpenAI announced its text-to-video model, Sora.

What impact will these tools and models have on the creative process? How will they change the role of an artist?

In the fourth episode of What Now? AI, hosts Beth Coleman and Rahul Krishnan dive into these questions with AI researchers Sanja Fidler of the University of Toronto and Nick Frosst, who co-founded the startup Cohere.

Listen to episode four on  Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio and Amazon. Watch episode four on YouTube. 

Fidler, the vice president of AI research at NVIDIA and an associate professor of mathematical and computational sciences at �鶹ֱ��app Mississauga, says that while AI technology is still in its early stage, it has the potential to provide artists with more adaptability and creative control.

“When artists see these methods like text-to-x, text-to-image or text-to-video, I feel that they have pushback because now there is only text that allows you to control the content,” says Fidler, an affiliate faculty member at the Vector Institute, which she co-founded.

“I think artists do want to have this iterative creative control. They have some idea in their head, and they have all these tools that allowed them to go from that idea into the final product. We want to do the same thing with AI as well.”

Frosst, who sings in the band Good Kid, says he doesn’t use large language models to help him write songs – only to help analyze lyrics and themes.

“I’m not really looking to optimize my artistic expression,” says Frosst, who completed his undergraduate degree in computer science and cognitive science at �鶹ֱ��app.

“I don’t really want to write a new Good Kid song and be less involved. I want to be more involved.”

Frosst believes AI will change the way art is created, but not to the point where people aren’t interested in the artists who are making it.

“We want to know who made it, and that’s mostly what’s enjoyable about it.”

About the hosts:

Beth Coleman is an associate professor at �鶹ֱ��app Mississauga’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and the Faculty of Information. She is also a research lead on AI policy and praxis at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. Coleman authored Reality Was Whatever Happened: Octavia Butler AI and Other Possible Worlds using art and generative AI.

Rahul Krishnan is an assistant professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. He is a Canada CIFAR Chair at the Vector Institute, a faculty affiliate at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and a faculty member at the Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM).

What Now? AI, Episode 2: Safe and Accountable

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:57:17 +0000

What Now? AI, Episode 2: Safe and Accountable Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 04/11/2024 - 08:57

Mariam Matti

Topic

Our Community

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

What Now? AI

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Information

Faculty of Law

Research & Innovation

�鶹ֱ��app Mississauga

Vector Institute

As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, how do we make sure it aligns with our values while minimizing risks?

In the second episode of What Now? AI, hosts Beth Coleman and Rahul Krishnan are joined by University of Toronto experts Gillian Hadfield and Roger Grosse as they tackle critical questions surrounding AI safety, regulation and alignment.

Listen to episode two on Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio and Amazon. Watch episode two on YouTube.

Grosse, an associate professor of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and a founding member of the Vector Institute, joined the technical staff on the alignment team at Anthropic, an AI safety and research company based in San Francisco, during a sabbatical last year.

He calls working on AI research and systems while investigating safety a “difficult needle to thread.”

“As you move up the ladder of different AI capabilities, new requirements start kicking in – in terms of keeping the models secure from bad actors and being able to make sure they won’t intentionally carry out harmful plans,” says Grosse, a faculty affiliate at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society.

Hadfield, a professor of law and strategic management in the Faculty of Law and the inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society, has proposed a national registry for large AI models. She thinks companies should disclose to governments what they’re building, the data being used and the AI model’s capabilities.

“This is a unique moment in human history,” says Hadfield, who holds a CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute for AI and served as a senior policy adviser to OpenAI from 2018 to 2023. “I think this is the first time that you have such a powerful technology that is being developed almost exclusively within private technology companies, so the public and the academic sector don’t have full visibility into how the technology is working.”

About the hosts:

Beth Coleman is an associate professor at �鶹ֱ��app Mississauga’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and the Faculty of Information. She is also a research lead on AI policy and praxis at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. Coleman authored Reality Was Whatever Happened: Octavia Butler AI and Other Possible Worlds using art and generative AI.

Rahul Krishnan is an assistant professor in �鶹ֱ��app’s department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. He is a Canada CIFAR Chair at the Vector Institute, a faculty affiliate at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and a faculty member at the Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM).

Jordan Jacobs on AI’s ‘profound’ implications, responsible development – and why he backed Cohere

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 22:39:50 +0000

Jordan Jacobs on AI’s ‘profound’ implications, responsible development – and why he backed Cohere

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 04/04/2024 - 18:39

Cutline

(photo courtesy of Cohere)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Our Community

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Alumni

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Arts & Science

Startups

Vector Institute

Subheadline

The managing partner of Radical Ventures, a venture capital firm, will be at �鶹ֱ��app's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy to discuss artificial intelligence during the Future of Money conference

A key figure in Canada’s burgeoning artificial intelligence scene, Jordan Jacobs boasts a track record of backing ventures at the vanguard of AI development – and the University of Toronto often plays a prominent role.

Jacobs and �鶹ֱ��app alumnus Tomi Poutanen have co-founded some of the most influential entities in Canada’s AI ecosystem, including Layer 6, which was acquired by TD Bank Group in 2018; the Vector Institute, a world-renowned AI research hub that counts �鶹ֱ��app among its early partners; and venture capital firm Radical Ventures, where Jacobs currently serves as managing partner.

He’s also a founding investor and board director of Cohere, a leading developer of enterprise-focused AI technologies founded by former �鶹ֱ��app computer science students Aidan Gomez, Nick Frosst and Ivan Zhang – and backed by AI luminaries University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton and Professor Raquel Urtasun.

Now, Jacobs is sharing his insights at the Future of Money conference, co-produced by Cohere and �鶹ֱ��app’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, where he’ll take part in an AI-focused fireside chat alongside Cohere chief product officer and �鶹ֱ��app alumnus Jaron Waldman.

�鶹ֱ��app News caught up with Jacobs ahead of the event to discuss how companies like Cohere are tapping into the deep pool of talent at �鶹ֱ��app and beyond to forge AI-powered solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

We’ve seen some incredible advancements in AI over the last year or so and heard some alarming warnings about the risks it could pose. What’s your take on how AI is evolving?

Over the next decade, virtually every bit of software will be replaced by artificial intelligence or embedded with it. The implications for our world and the global economy are profound.

Traditional software is hard-coded and static. Once shipped and deployed, it never improves until the next version is shipped and replaces it. Soon, all software will be powered by AI that learns and improves, often in real-time. Built around learning algorithms that adapt to new situations, AI software is more efficient and effective. This is particularly true for generative AI, which can create new data or software code on its own, without the need for human input.

This coming software replacement cycle will have an extraordinary impact on our economy. In addition, AI will help unlock new discoveries across science. These are Industrial Revolution-sized opportunities – happening simultaneously and enabled by one technology.

One of my personal motivations for starting Radical was to invest in companies that would help solve the biggest challenges facing humanity. When we were thinking of selling our AI company, Layer 6, to focus on building the leading AI investment firm, I said to my Radical co-founder and University of Toronto alum, Tomi Poutanen: “AI will help cure cancers. Let’s help cure cancer.”

How would you describe venture capital’s role when it comes to responsible AI development?

Venture capital is an essential driver of economic value and innovation. Only half of one per cent of public companies received venture funding, but VC-backed companies account for 40 per cent of total U.S. market capitalization. VC plays a disproportionate role in the economy, especially when it comes to the development of new technologies such as AI. OpenAI, Cohere and the startups behind the large language models that helped bring AI to the mainstream over the past year received multiple rounds of funding from venture capital firms. Google and Meta – whose industrial labs created some of the biggest AI breakthroughs of the last decade – were, at one time, fuelled by venture capital.

At Radical, we are committed to developing AI technologies and applications that improve the future for all, and we believe that the venture capital industry – the underwriters of tomorrow’s innovations – must approach investments in AI with a sense of shared responsibility. Last year, in partnership with the Vector Institute, we launched the Responsible AI for Startups (RAIS) framework – an open-source resource for investors evaluating investments in AI technologies. RAIS is a practical tool to help VCs assess early-stage AI companies and technologies across responsibility and safety considerations.

Let's talk about Cohere, a startup that has numerous �鶹ֱ��app ties and several high-profile backers, including yourself. How is it different from other companies developing large language models?

Cohere is one of a cohort of companies, including OpenAI and Google DeepMind, that is developing the world’s most sophisticated large language models. Unlike most competitors in the space, Cohere’s focus is offering a cloud-agnostic, privacy-preserving solution for enterprise customers, which include Oracle and McKinsey.

Cohere’s founders are three Canadian entrepreneurs [and former �鶹ֱ��app computer science students]: Aidan Gomez, the company’s CEO and one of the authors of the groundbreaking transformers paper that ushered in the era of modern generative AI; Nick Frosst, protege of deep learning pioneer and [University Professor Emeritus] Geoffrey Hinton, and their classmate Ivan Zhang. Today, the team includes many of the inventors of some of the most widely used modern AI techniques.

How would you describe Cohere's growth to date — and where do you see it heading in the future?

Radical was deeply engaged with Cohere prior to company incorporation and invested the very first cheque into the company in 2019. Since then, Cohere has developed world-class language models that compete directly with the best models in the world, grown the team to more than 200 people across offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City and London, and signed many global enterprises as customers. It is now one of the most valuable AI companies in the world. Given the technical complexities of working with cutting-edge AI models, there are few companies that have the experience and expertise to push the field forward while also delivering huge value to industry. Cohere leads the pack.

What advice would you give researchers or students who are keen on building a company in the AI space?

Tackle the most important problems. Building a business aimed at making incremental advances on existing technologies may find a market in the near-term. However, in the long run, these businesses are vulnerable to competition or commodification by existing AI solutions. Whether it’s tackling climate change, increasing business productivity or curing cancer, AI is a technology capable of taking on many of the world’s biggest challenges.

It’s also important to remember that we are still in the very early innings of the AI revolution. The field will continue to evolve and change. There’s a very real opportunity right now for young entrepreneurs to shape the future of this important technology.