Samsung is planning to open an artificial intelligence research lab in Cambridge, creating 150 highly-skilled jobs in a cutting-edge sector which the Government says will be key to Britain’s industrial future.
The new lab, which will teach computers to recognise human emotions and improve the way they interact with us, will increase the Korean electronics firm’s UK-based research team by almost half.
It will be led by Professor Andrew Blake, a “pioneering researcher in the development of systems that enable computers to interpret visual data, says Bloomberg. As research director of the Turing Institute, he helped develop the technology that allows computers to recognise human faces.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Blake said the new centre will “help us to better understand human behaviour, exploring areas like emotion recognition, and ... develop AI technologies that ultimately improve people’s lives”.
The news was welcomed by Theresa May, who said the centre will “create high-paying, high-skilled jobs” and represents a “vote of confidence in the UK as a world leader in artificial intelligence”.
The PM said her Government’s “modern industrial strategy” would encourage similar investment across the UK. In April, the Government announced investment of nearly £1bn in AI over several years, with £300m of that coming from private firms.
Companies involved “include Microsoft, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, McKinsey, and Pfizer” says Fortune magazine.
Take our survey for your chance to win £100 John Lewis vouchers
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chopsFeature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
The jobs most at risk from AIThe Explainer Sales and customer services are touted as some of the key jobs that will be replaced by AI
-
Why AI means it's more important than ever to check terms and conditionsIn The Spotlight WeTransfer row over training AI models on user data shines spotlight on dangers of blindly clicking 'Accept'
-
Are AI lovers replacing humans?Talking Points A third of Gen Z singles use tech as a 'romantic companion'
-
Palantir: The all-seeing tech giantFeature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?
-
Grok brings to light wider AI antisemitismIn the Spotlight Google and OpenAI are among the other creators who have faced problems
-
Intellectual property: AI gains at creators' expenseFeature Two federal judges ruled that it is fair use for AI firms to use copyrighted media to train bots
-
Is AI killing the internet?Talking Point AI-powered browsers and search engines are threatening the death of the open web
