Today, Denmark's new Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence marks its official opening with an event that will focus on how fundamental AI research can contribute to solving some of society's greatest challenges and bring Denmark to the forefront of human-centered artificial intelligence.
The Pioneer Centre for AI is Denmark's largest research centre for artificial intelligence, and is hosted by the the University of Copenhagen, and has associated partners involved in the centre from Aalborg University, Aarhus University, the IT University of Copenhagen and DTU.
'It is fantastic that Denmark makes a significant investment in a broadly founded AI Centre and that it has been possible to attract an outstanding leader like Serge Belongie. The Centre will focus on human-AI collaboration, hence is perfectly aligned with DTU's strategy "Technology for People",' says Professor Lars Kai Hansen, DTU Compute, who has been DTU’s representative in the working group that formulated the centre’s research plans.
"It is fantastic that Denmark makes a significant investment in a broadly founded AI Centre and that it has been possible to attract an outstanding leader like Serge Belongie. The Centre will focus on human-AI collaboration, hence is perfectly aligned with DTU's strategy "Technology for People"."
Professor Lars Kai Hansen, DTU Compute
From the outset, the ambition has been to conduct fundamental research at the highest international level, with a focus on solving some of society's greatest challenges. Director of the centre, Professor Serge Belongie, hopes that the centre, with its focus on societal challenges, people and design, will challenge and change the way artificial intelligence creates value for Denmark.
– The unique character of the Pioneer Centre for AI comes through in the way in which we work with the grand challenges. The challenges we will confront are not merely a matter of big data and bigger models; rather, they are high-touch, messy, deeply human problems, for which tech is but one component, situated alongside vital contributions from social science, participatory design, journalism, public policy, and beyond, explains Professor and director in the Pioneer Centre for AI, Serge Belongie.
Since the start of the centre in the autumn of 2021, several research projects have already been launched across the five universities. The projects aim to create social impact in areas such as health and biotech, energy, and infrastructure as well as climate and biodiversity.
The centre was initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in collaboration with the Danish National Research Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Villum Foundation and the five universities.
The opening event takes place on Monday 28 March in the afternoon and will be held in The Black Diamond at Søren Kierkegaard's Square in Copenhagen. Participants will be presented the vision behind the centre and examples of how fundamental research can be used to help address some of society’s most important challenges.
Read the press release from the Pioneer Centre
Read the article Massive Danish investment in artificial intelligence research