Alice Chambers |
Microsoft is working alongside nonprofits, universities, governments and other technology companies as part of the Harvard Law School Library’s Institutional Data Initiative (IDI) to increase the quantity of data available to the public and the diversity of sources, cultures, languages and subject matters represented in that data.
IDI aims to unlock and refine high-quality data, beginning with collections at Havard Law School Library, so that artificial intelligence solutions better reflect and benefit communities.
“These collections of data contain critical snapshots of cultures and worldviews through the ages that should be reflected in AI innovations,” said Burton Davis, vice president and deputy general counsel of intellectual property group at Microsoft, in a blog post titled ‘Supporting New Open Data Initiatives’.
Microsoft is also supporting CORE, an initiative led by The Open University in the UK that aims to open access to scholarly knowledge worldwide. Microsoft will help to provide machine access to academic research content and to develop ethical ways of using academic content for developing AI.
“For AI innovation to work for everyone, access to broad and varied data is a must, and not just for big companies like Microsoft, but importantly also for researchers and startups,” said Davis. “It is necessary to enhance performance, improve safety, and minimise bias. We look forward to working with IDI and CORE to make diverse and high-quality data more accessible to all developers.”