Google’s AI Company DeepMind

Google’s artificial intelligence company, DeepMind, has developed an AI that has managed to learn how to walk, run, jump, and climb without any prior guidance. The result is as impressive as it is goofy.

Humans need help from the machines

Addressing the audience of global thinkers and leaders, humans are struggling to grapple with the complexity of the systems that we have created, adding that our current financial systems “need to serve the interests of the many and not just the few”.

Using AI to make the world better

Suleyman believes that AI, and more specifically the AI being created by DeepMind, can play a crucial role in making the world a better place for everyone.

The company’s most famous algorithm to date is AlphaGo — an AI agent that taught itself how to play, and master, the Chinese board game Go.

But DeepMind is now looking to apply similar algorithms to real world problems.

Last July, Google announced that it has been using a DeepMind-built AI system to control certain parts of its power-hungry data centres over the last few months as it looks to make its vast server farms more environmentally friendly. This week, Suleyman said the DeepMind technology has now been deployed in all of Google’s data centres, as he said it would be.

DeepMind is now in talks with the National Grid in the UK about a potential partnership that could help the entire nation to reduce its carbon footprint.

Elsewhere, DeepMind’s AI is also being used to help medical experts in the NHS to diagnose patients and treat them accordingly. The company has developed an app called “Streams” which is able to detect AKI (acute kidney injury) and other conditions. It is also using its software to help clinicians spot head and neck cancer, and early signs of eye conditions that human eye care experts might miss.

The company’s work with the NHS gives DeepMind access to large amounts of patient data and the collaboration has been criticised for not being transparent enough, with the first deal (made with the Royal Free NHS Trust in North London) coming under the most criticism.