The Generative AI Laboratory (GAIL) will unite the University’s world-leading research and innovation in AI to develop safe solutions and systems for industry and government and bring substantial benefits to those who use them.
Innovative techniques
The major initiative aims to develop techniques for generative AI in key areas such as robotics, drug discovery, medical diagnoses, semi-conductor development, and tackling climate change.
Experts will also work in partnership with the University’s Centre for Technomoral Futures to take a fresh look at the ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks necessary to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI.
Fast progress
Generative AI is a type of machine learning that can be used to generate various types of content including text, images, audio, video and computer code.
Progress in this type of AI has been swift in recent months and generative AI has already transformed business operations, increasing productivity and enhancing areas of academic study.
Global expertise
The University has a well-established high performance computing infrastructure with an international reach, which is vital for building AI systems. It currently hosts the UK’s national supercomputer, ARCHER2, and is soon to be one of only a handful of institutes in the world to have a next generation supercomputer, the Exascale.
Edinburgh has deep-rooted partnerships with public and private sector institutions that stand to benefit from the innovative uses of generative AI that GAIL will create.
60th anniversary
The interdisciplinary initiative builds on 60 years of research into AI and Computer Science at the University. Since the first research groups were established in 1963, Edinburgh has been a world-leader in developing some of the systems that underpin generative AI, including machine learning and Natural Language Processing.