By clicking “Accept All Cookies,” you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site usage.

Skip to main content

The Growing Influence of Industry in AI Research

MIT IDE Research Lead, Neil Thompson, and MIT IDE Postdoctoral Associate, Nur Ahmed, along with co-author Muntasir Wahed of Virginia Tech, released a provocative new article published in Science. 

The article traces The Growing Influence of Industry in AI Research, and highlights how this troubling influence over AI will impact the research outcomes and future products and applications.

Access the article here.

Industry increasingly dominates the three key ingredients of modern AI research: computing power, large datasets, and highly skilled researchers.

As a result, “Industry is becoming more influential in academic publications, cutting-edge models, and key benchmarks.

And although these industry investments will benefit consumers, the accompanying research dominance should be a worry for policy-makers around the world because it means that public interest alternatives for important AI tools may become increasingly scarce.”