Cambridge lab will teach computers to study emotions

South Korean tech giant Samsung plans new AI centre in Cambridge

Professor Andrew Blake will lead the new AI research centre
Professor Andrew Blake will lead the new AI research centre

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.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

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

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.