November 28, 2018 | Read Time: 1 minute
Google.org has issued a $25 million call for ideas that use artificial intelligence to tackle tough social and environmental problems.
The company has seen the impact artificial intelligence has had on its own products, such as Gmail and Google Photos, and it wants to make sure people are also thinking about how to harness the technology for social good, says Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, head of product impact at the company’s charitable arm.
“Google.org for all of our existence has really focused on how emerging technologies and innovative applications of technology can help address social challenges,” she says. “This is really kind of a next page in that book.”
The company’s A.I. Impact Challenge is open to organizations around the world, with the exception of groups in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Applications are due January 22.
A panel of judges made up of Google executives and outside experts will evaluate submissions on their potential impact, feasibility, use of A.I., ability to expand, and adherence to the company’s Responsible A.I. Practices.
Grants of Up to $2 Million
Google anticipates it will award grants of $500,000 to $2 million, but the amount will be based on project needs. In addition to receiving grant money, winners will also join a specialized accelerator program and receive coaching from the company’s artificial-intelligence experts and services and consulting from Google Cloud. Google will work with DataKind, a data-science nonprofit, to determine the winners’ technology needs.
Winners will be announced in early May.
Google created a guide to using artificial intelligence for social good to help nonprofits think through how the technology might apply to their work.
