REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, leading
organizations across the U.S. financial services, technology and
academic industries announced the formation of a new National
Council for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI). The council brings
together the Brookings Institution, CUNY, the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York, Mastercard,
Microsoft, Nasdaq, Plug and Play, SUNY,
University of Central Florida, and Visa
with the goal of maximizing technology to jointly solve specific
issues of interest to the industry.
"The goal of the newly created NCAI is to establish a pragmatic
coalition with public-private partnerships in the financial
services sector to identify and address significant societal and
industry barriers," said Gretchen
O'Hara, vice president of AI and sustainability strategy,
Microsoft U.S. "I am excited about the launch of our distinguished
board, and the continued momentum to work with the members of this
coalition to better serve the needs of our stakeholders and
communities through AI innovation."
The NCAI board, composed of volunteer senior executives acting
as advisors to the council on behalf of their company or
organization, will work to co-create AI solutions for positive
societal and financial impact, identify and set the AI strategy and
vision for a wide range of projects, and track AI adoption
progress. Each member organization has nominated its own AI
ambassadors to serve as regional leads and drive programs. All
members have an equal voice in the way it operates and is
governed.
The council intends to apply AI to resolve
significant challenges in business such as:
- General economic and industrial challenges – including
research transfer, industry standards and funding instruments
- Digital skills and employability – including
organizational and cultural challenges, and labor policies
- Data privacy – including data access and shared
innovation
"Although there are many councils focusing on resolving
technology challenges, I appreciate NCAI's charter to figure out
how AI can deliver deeper societal impact," said Ed Fandrey, vice president of Financial
Services, Microsoft U.S. "The NCAI coalition brings partners
together across the industry to ensure AI and the technologies
underpinning it are transparent and safe for not only financial
services customers but throughout the regulated industry."
Overall, the objective of the collaboration is to
accelerate AI innovation and adoption by:
- Lowering the risk of AI adoption and bias
- Lowering the barrier of entry to innovate
- Defining the educational journey for the AI talent of the
future and equipping workers facing AI displacement with the right
skills to maintain career momentum
- Serving as an advisor of vision, information and
multidisciplinary partnership with a focus on AI policy
To achieve these goals, the NCAI will deliver a robust
curriculum for AI education and skilling, and will engage with the
community through research white papers, new tools and programs,
hosted events, and social media outreach to make AI more applicable
and impactful. The council also plans to host quarterly meetings
and public events to transparently communicate the resolution and
progress of key challenges through AI adoption.
Initial work from the council will focus on reskilling and
upskilling of the current workforce and business leaders. More
details about the coalition's programs and its impacts will be
available in early 2021.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
Perspectives from NCAI member
organizations
"Mastercard has been pioneering the use of AI, applying it
across our business to help keep the digital ecosystem safe for
governments, banks, merchants and consumers," said Rohit Chauhan, executive vice president,
Artificial Intelligence, Mastercard. "It has enabled us to provide
quicker, easier and safer ways to transact and interact. As AI's
role and influence continues to expand, partnership,
knowledge-sharing and best practices are needed to help accelerate
the adoption in a responsible, secure and human-centric manner. Our
work with the council is just beginning and we're eager to
collaborate and innovate with this group of industry leaders."
"At Nasdaq, we are leveraging AI to solve challenges for the
capital markets and beyond, with an aim to make markets safer,
smarter and stronger," said Michael
O'Rourke, senior vice president and head of Artificial
Intelligence and Investment Intelligence Technology, Nasdaq and
NCAI council member. "We enthusiastically support the formation of
the NCAI to progress these values and to use AI for the greater
good for the investing public in the U.S. and worldwide."
"Brookings Institution aims to advance effective and inclusive
governance of transformative new technologies," said Dr.
Nicol Turner Lee, director of the
Center for Technology Innovation, the Brookings Institution. "While
artificial intelligence is generating benefits, difficult questions
surface in terms of bias and discrimination. I am excited to join
the National Council for Artificial Intelligence together with
Microsoft and the other member organizations to work together to
drive major solutions and policies that govern innovation, and
drive the advancement of digital equity and inclusion for
historically disadvantaged populations."
"SUNY's inclusion in the National
Council for Artificial Intelligence shows our system's dedication
to partnering with fellow institutions of higher education and
industry leaders in artificial intelligence — a field that is
ever-growing and in need of diverse perspectives to serve
businesses and organizations throughout the country," said
Chris Ellis, deputy chief of staff,
SUNY. "We are proud to be a member of
the council and look forward to working with the other members to
influence artificial intelligence innovation of tomorrow and
shaping educational programs involving AI."
"It is incumbent upon leaders from the public and private
sectors to ensure that our shared values of accountability,
transparency and civic-mindedness guide us as AI becomes more
prevalent in our everyday lives," said Félix V. Matos Rodríguez,
chancellor, CUNY. "AI promises many hopeful rewards, but it also
presents a host of new and ever-evolving challenges. One thing is
certain: CUNY is committed to educating and training students, as
well as upskilling displaced workers for the ever-shifting 21st
century labor market. We thank our partners in the National Council
for Artificial Intelligence for the opportunity to ensure that the
future remains bright and promising for all."
"We are thrilled to participate on this board and have ambition
to form an AI-focused innovation platform and accelerator," said
Michael Olmstead, chief revenue
officer, Plug and Play. "With participation from the fellow board
members, we will use this platform as a potential investment
vehicle and sandbox to test different policies and ideas this group
is looking to create."
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SOURCE Microsoft Corporation