Google.org announces winners of AI Impact Challenge
Melanie May | 13 June 2019 | News
UK independent fact-checking charity Full Fact is one of 20 organisations worldwide to have won Google.org’s AI Impact Challenge.
The aim of the AI Impact Challenge is to inspire the application of artificial intelligence to provide new solutions to old problems and improve people’s lives with Google.org offering winning organisations a share of $25m, coaching from Google’s AI experts, and credits and consulting from Google Cloud.
They will also have the opportunity to join a customised six-month Google Developers Launchpad Accelerator program, including guidance from Google.org’s non-profit partner, DataKind, to help jumpstart their work.
Applications closed in January with the grant recipients announced last month.
Congratulations to @FullFact from the UK for receiving a grant from @Googleorg as part of the #GoogleAI Impact Challenge!
Full Fact uses AI to provide free factchecking tools, information & advice so that people can make up their own minds. https://t.co/cwo8RIcaXI pic.twitter.com/D6jXr9VOzR
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— Google UK (@GoogleUK) May 8, 2019
Working with fact-checking organisations AfricaCheck and Chequeado, UK winner Full Fact will use AI to provide trend monitoring and clustering tools to aid fact checkers’ analysis of news and other information. The aim is to give fact-checkers more time to focus on research, analysis, and writing articles that contextualise the news and help people make more informed decisions. Full Fact, Africa Check, Chequeado and the ODI will share $2 million over three years, as well as receiving coaching from Google’s AI experts and credits and consulting from Google Cloud.
Other winners included Brazil’s Hand Talk, which uses AI to translate Portuguese into Brazilian Sign Language using a digital avatar named Hugo so enabling digital communication for deaf and hard of hearing Brazilians, and India’s Wadhwani AI – a project to fights pest damage. It sees farmers and agriculture programme workers take regular photos of pest traps, with AI models on their phones classifying and counting the pests. The data will be used to provide millions of farmers with timely, localised advice to reduce pesticide usage and improve yield.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.