Amazon and the University of South California join hands to create a research center that will be focused on machine learning. The Center for Secure and Trusted Machine Learning will be located at the Viterbi School of Engineering.
Privacy and Security
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are on the way to becoming significant terms on the technological front, opening doors to new opportunities, helping organizations grow and prosper at an unprecedented rate. However, every coin has two sides. Similarly, machine learning also comes with a limitation that creates a glass wall between it and the public, due to privacy concerns. Particularly during a time when preserving user security and privacy is gaining momentum, it is imperative that machine learning evolves in a way to fulfill these requirements, thereby gaining the trust of the people worldwide.
The Research center will be pooling its resources and skillset towards achieving this end and developing solutions that are innovative and privacy-preserving. The top talent from both entities will come together and join forces to achieve substantial development and progress in this particularly controversial area of study.
According to Prem Natarajan, vice president of Alexa AI,
“We are delighted to bring together top talent at Amazon and USC in a joint mission to drive ground-breaking advances in privacy and security preserving machine learning—advances that enable us to continue to safely and securely deliver experiences that enrich and delight our customers worldwide.”
Amazon had received a lot of scorn and criticism for certain features and devices that go against the privacy of the users, particularly the review of voice by humans through Alexa devices. In response to this, the company had introduced various features and updates to protect and ensure user privacy and security.
The research center also plans to back an annual fellowship program through which doctoral students can gain close and in-depth experience in solution-driven research. The collaborative ventures will also open platforms for workshops and training programs for high school and college students, in addition to recruitment events and opportunities.
