Research Excellence in AI

ELLIS Alicante is creating a world-class research team, focused on ethical Artificial Intelligence research in the area of the relationship between people and AI.

We interact with Artificial Intelligence systems on a daily basis. They help us find what we are looking for online, recommend us music, predict the weather, recognize faces, help cars avoid accidents and much much more. These intelligent systems are the result of years of research by computer scientists.

The majority of AI research today is done by the main technology companies in North America and China, focused primarily on their commercial interests. As a result, there has been a lack of independent ethical AI research to study the negative impact of AI on society, ranging from human discrimination to manipulation.

We believe that Europe and European values have important contributions to make in helping the world create AI systems are centered on improving people’s lives and contributing to real progress.

ELLIS Alicante’s research is designed to promote real progress in the intersection between AI and people, structured in three large areas:

  1. AI that understands us, by modelling human behavior using AI techniques both for individuals and larger groups, with a special interest in Social Good applications.

  2. AI that interacts with us, via the development of intelligent, interactive systems, with a special focus on the development of smart phones, personal assistants and chatbots.

  3. AI that we trust, tackling the ethical challenges brought by AI, such as algorithmic discrimination, violation of privacy, opacity, lack of veracity or subliminal manipulation of human behavior.

Our projects are inspired by the challenges that people face today when interacting with AI systems:

  • Have you ever been denied credit automatically and wondered why?
  • Do you feel that everyone online is more beautiful and happier than in the real world?
  • Do you spend more time on your phone that you think you do or you should?
  • Have you tried posting content on a social platform that has been shadow-banned or censored?
  • Do you have the feeling that the content online is more extremist and sensationalist than in the real world?

AI systems are behind the questions above. AI algorithms already influence our behavior and make life-impacting decisions today, in many cases without any transparency or ethical frameworks.

These are some of the questions that we are trying to answer with our research. We are working both on understanding the scope and impact of AI in our lives, and to invent novel intelligent systems that place people first and have people’s wellbeing at their core. An AI revolution, for and by the people.