Team from the Center for Responsible AI, an initiative supported by the RRP, will be responsible for defining the working method for developing responsible artificial intelligence.
Lisbon, 17th of May, 2023 – Led by Unbabel, the Center for Responsible AI, which will invest €78 million in the development of responsible Artificial Intelligence, moves ahead with the appointment of its governance bodies. This consortium of AI startups, research centres and industry leaders, will develop 21 AI products with the aim of generating €250 million in exports by 2030. 215 jobs will be created and 132 degrees, PhDs and Masters will be awarded.
Vasco Pedro, Co-founder and CEO of Unbabel and member of the General Council, adds that “the scale of the investment allocated to the Center for Responsible AI, 78 million euros, composed of funds from the PRR and the members themselves, will have a very positive impact on the competitiveness of the country compared to others that are also betting on Artificial Intelligence.”
The General Council is composed by José Manuel Fonseca de Moura, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Director of CMU-Portugal program, Arlindo Oliveira, Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and President of INESC, Cristina Fonseca, Product Vice-president at Zendesk and co-founder of Cleverly and Talkdesk, Pedro Bizarro, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Feedzai and Vasco Pedro, Co-founder and CEO of Unbabel.
José Manuel Fonseca de Moura, Chair of the General Council, comments “the Center for Responsible AI will be of great importance for Portugal. The impact of Artificial Intelligence in our lives is increasing and the Center for Responsible AI will develop next generation AI products, based on the technologies and principles of Responsible Artificial Intelligence. The Center will create a virtuous circle between startups, research centres and industry leaders in this area at a unique scale in Portugal. This mission is entrusted to a team of excellence that I believe will rise to this huge challenge.
The Executive Committee includes Paulo Dimas, Vice President of Innovation at Unbabel, André Eiras dos Santos, founder and Vice President of Strategic Business Development at Sword Health, André Martins, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications (IT) and Nuno André, Financial Director of the Center and Coordinator of Incentives at Unbabel.
For the Scientific Council, the members of the Center for Responsible AI nominated Isabel Trancoso, former President of the Scientific Council of INESC-ID, António Damásio, Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute and world leader in Neuroscience, Francisco Pereira, Machine Learning team leader at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH, United States) and Pedro Saleiro, Director of AI Research at Feedzai.
Finally, the Ethics Council is composed by Helena Moniz, President of EAMT, Pedro Conceição, Director of Strategic Policy at UNDP (United Nations) and Virginia Dignum, Wallenberg Chair in Responsible AI and Professor of Social AI and Ethics.
The process of electing members included the participation of ten startups, namely Unbabel, Feedzai, Sword Health, Automaise, Emotai, NeuralShift, Priberam, Visor. ai, YData and YooniK, eight research centres, Champalimaud Foundation, CISUC, FEUP, Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, INESC-ID, IST, IST-ID/ISR and IT, the law firm VdA and five industry leaders, BIAL, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Learning Health, Grupo Pestana and Sonae MC.
The Center for Responsible AI, supported by the PRR and led by Unbabel, aims to position Portugal and Europe as a global leader in Responsible AI technologies, as well as in the principles and regulation in this field, contributing to EU legislation on Artificial Intelligence and attracting the best AI talent in the world. By 2025, it will launch 21 next generation AI products, based on Responsible AI technologies and principles.
About Unbabel:
Unbabel works to eliminate language barriers so businesses can thrive across different cultures and geographies. The company’s Language Operations platform combines the power of artificial intelligence with the rigor of a community of human translators who post-edit machine translation, producing fast, efficient, high-quality translations that get smarter over time. The goal of the platform is to offer companies the ability to scale their business more easily globally, increasing trusted relationships with their customers by delivering more consistent, high-quality multilingual experiences in marketing and customer service.”
About the Center for Responsible AI:
Led by Portuguese startup Unbabel, the Center for Responsible AI is one of the largest centres dedicated to Responsible AI, bringing together ten startups, including two unicorns, eight research centres in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, a law firm and also five industry leaders in Life Sciences, Retail, Healthcare and Tourism. These research centres, startups and industry leaders will collaborate to develop 21 innovative AI products based on the technologies and principles of Responsible AI: fairness, privacy, explainability and sustainability. The Centre for Responsible AI will position Portugal and Europe as a global leader in these technologies, as well as in the principles and regulation in this field, attracting the best AI talent in the world.
