Stanford University's new institute plans to re-imagine Artificial Intelligence

The Stanford University is launching a new institute called The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) that would develop, grow and focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and its applications.

Headed by John Etchemendy, former Director of the Stanford AI Lab, HAI plans to partner with industries, government and non-government organisations across sectors, including technology, financial services, health care and manufacturing, the university wrote in a blog post on Monday.

"Now is our opportunity to shape that future by putting humanists and social scientists alongside people who are developing AI," said Marc Tessier-Lavigne, President, Stanford University.

HAI, along with a new Data Science Institute, will anchor a planned 200,000-square-foot building that is intended to serve as a rallying point and catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration, the company said.

The institute will house research fellows and professional groups to distribute funding to spur research directions.

HAI is the first initiative to launch out of Stanford's long-range planning process that started in 2017 with an open invitation to faculty, students and staff to submit ideas for how the university could empower creativity and agile research, and accelerate solutions for society, the post noted.