{"id":106798,"date":"2018-08-22T14:56:49","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T18:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techvibes.com\/?p=106798"},"modified":"2018-08-29T14:31:28","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T18:31:28","slug":"plan-for-friction-element-ai-and-the-pursuit-of-ethics","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/magazine\/plan-for-friction-element-ai-and-the-pursuit-of-ethics","title":{"rendered":"Plan for Friction: Element AI and the Pursuit of Ethics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe want to be a contributor for a smooth transition to a more positive future.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order for an AI system to be successful, it needs as much data and resources as possible. Researchers and developers may have an outcome in mind, but the idea may change as soon as machine learning algorithms have run their course. That\u2019s the beauty of AI: it can see and do what 10,000-plus humans can not.<\/p>\n

The idea behind Element AI<\/a> began in much the same way. Initially, its goal was to build AI tech and platforms for companies that\u00a0could not do it themselves. However, as the Montreal-based company began to work with more varied clients\u2014including insurance companies, government-funded media, and massive infrastructure installations\u2014the company\u2019s perspective changed. The original business plan was still sound, but another vision of it emerged, with a much loftier goal.<\/p>\n

Element AI found themselves at a point where they\u00a0could not only contribute to the development of the AI industry; they could lead it as well. Very few companies in the world have this opportunity. Element AI\u00a0had to act fast, and more importantly, they had to act responsibly.<\/p>\n

A Quick Pace<\/h3>\n

It took Element AI just over eight months to raise $102 million USD<\/a> in VC funding. This remains as one of the largest funding rounds ever for a Canadian tech company and is a testament to the firm\u2019s goals and its founders. Jean-Francois Gagn\u00e9, Nicolas Chapados, and Yoshua Bengio started Element AI in late 2016, and that funding round followed in June 2017.<\/p>\n

Gagn\u00e9, now\u00a0the CEO of Element AI, is a storied entrepreneur, having previously served in executive roles at Planora and JDA Software. He also never went to university. His two co-founders, however, hold PhDs and have helped form humanity\u2019s basic understandings of AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent my entire career with university professors doing technology transfer,\u201d explains Gagn\u00e9, laughing. \u201cI have probably completed three PhDs in total from all the second-hand knowledge.\u201c<\/p>\n

\"ElementAI_Toronto_Office_Techvibes-6\"
Element AI’s Toronto office.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The history of its founders helps underscore\u00a0Element AI\u2019s approach. They are committed to the development of AI, both as a community and a technology, but they will always be a business first and foremost, one that creates AI frameworks for some of the largest companies in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story of Element AI is a weird one,\u201d says Gagn\u00e9. \u201cWe\u2019re a startup that goes after a scaled opportunity. So our journey is uncommon and unusual. But our vision has been extremely constant, surprisingly. The goal has always been to provide access to tools that are built and designed around AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

As that vision progressed, and Element AI found its foothold, Gagn\u00e9 and his team stumbled upon something a bit more meaningful. They wanted to work with partners and create AI \u201cresponsibly, with proper governance and frameworks, along with a social responsibility,\u201d Gagn\u00e9 says.<\/p>\n

“We felt the only way to respond and go faster than them was through collaboration.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Only a certain kind of AI company can influence how the sector progresses. After all, niche startups with a handful of researchers don’t really have a say, and experts from\u00a0the likes of Google\u2019s Deepmind, Facebook and Tesla can dominate headlines with off-handed remarks that offer little value. But due to their founding team and sizeable funding, Element AI\u00a0realized an opportunity to build a community that could influence the formation and scaling of the AI industry in a positive manner. They were an alternative to big tech, and people would actually listen to them. It didn’t all come at once though.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to answer if the idea of an AI community was a real goal from the beginning,\u201d Gagn\u00e9 says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw a lot of value in rallying people and sharing, and there are different ways of sharing and connecting and collaboration. Either it’s through open-source, conferences, or partnerships, but one thing we knew from the start is that given the talent, the big actors who are using their weight to dominate the market, we felt the only way to respond and go faster than them was through collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For Element AI, collaborating and building an AI community was a natural move, helping them stand out in a big tech ecosystem. For many companies to access AI in a meaningful way, it meant being coerced into opaque and Daedalean agreements\u2014the antitheses of Element AI\u2019s goal for the field\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the current position of democratizing AI is having a company work with you only if you put all your data and pay me for a compute cycle on my cloud,\u201d says Gagne. \u201cIt\u2019s saying \u2018we\u2019re democratizing AI but we\u2019re locking you on our data centre.\u2019 That’s the tradeoff you have to face right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solution? Open-source the AI world by bringing in like-minded individuals who want to build frameworks based on ethics and responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiguring out the right way to shape outcomes should not be something we think of on top of our ivory tower,\u201d Gagn\u00e9 says. \u201cIt should emerge from collaboration and a community that has a voice. The only way we make the right decisions is through adding rational and educated people that are understanding and have access to the tech themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Rational Approach<\/h3>\n

Having a vision is fine, but acting on it is what actually matters. To that end, Element AI\u00a0is using their historic VC funding to expand their business interests and develop the AI community, through sponsorships, partnerships, and networking opportunities.<\/p>\n

They needed to start somewhere, though, and despite\u00a0the global reach of Element AI, where better than at home in Montreal?<\/p>\n

“The only way we make the right decisions is through adding rational and educated people that are understanding and have access to the tech themselves.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Startupfest, a premier tech conference hosted annually in the city, had its own AIFest, curated and produced by Element AI. This year\u2019s edition featured dozens of founders, researchers and thought leaders exploring the impact of AI on society and business, with discussions\u00a0on topics like \u201cExploring AI Through a Social Lens\u201d and \u201cTackling Gender Bias in AI.”\u00a0 In the 2017 edition,\u00a0Element AI sponsored a contest to produce an AI prototype that would fight fake news. The company also produced a three-day AI Forum for C2 Montreal this year, where Gagn\u00e9 and Bengio led keynotes and helped curate discussions on ethics, limitations, and AI for good, among a dozen other topics.<\/p>\n