Author: Dr. Juan Bernabé-Moreno, Director of Scientific Research in Europe, IBM
As IBM’s Director of Scientific Research in Europe, I know what a huge opportunity the AI Revolution represents for the UK economy. But translating that potential into economic growth and scientific progress requires close collaboration between technology companies and universities. That’s why I was delighted last month to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IBM and Imperial College London, committing us to work together over the coming years on the application of AI technologies to global problems including climate change.
AI is one of the UK’s best opportunities for growth
No technology has ever advanced as quickly as AI. Already it has begun to revolutionise every sector in every country. The UK is well positioned to perform well in this incredibly competitive market, boasting some of the world’s most advanced computer technology and a great deal of high-quality, centrally-held data. Many of the world’s leading experts in AI and its applications work at British universities. In addition, the UK’s regulatory framework allows for significant space for innovation.
But the UK is not yet making the most of its strengths. Industry and academia are not working closely enough together, which slows down innovation in an area where the UK needs to move fast.
By bringing IBM and Imperial together, the MoU marks a major step towards turning the UK’s enormous potential in the field of AI into success.
To apply the power of AI we must first understand it
The MoU’s primary goal is to pool our engineering, computing, and machine learning resources to address climate and sustainability challenges. Our generative AI technologies are developing so quickly that not even we can foresee the full extent of their possible applications. That’s where we value the partnership with institutions like Imperial.
You only need to look at the number of successful spin-outs Imperial generates to see what a practically-minded institution it is. Imperial students and researchers start with problems, then work out ways to solve them. In our climate and sustainability efforts, IBM will provide cutting-edge technologies, and Imperial will provide students and postdoctoral researchers will find ways to apply them to solve specific problems.
Let’s say, for example, that we wanted to map the areas of the UK most at risk of flooding because of extreme weather events. IBM would provide Imperial with foundation models which are trained on satellite images, climate forecasting and a myriad other relevant data. An Imperial team would fine-tune that model into a specialist model for flood detection, which they would then share with IBM.
Collaborations like this are how IBM, Imperial, and the UK more broadly will make major gains in AI over the coming years, generating jobs, economic growth, and – most importantly – solutions to the existential challenges the world faces.
Collaboration beyond our partnership
But AI is too important a technology to be in just a few hands. So the MoU between IBM and Imperial also formalises a shared commitment to collaboration and openness beyond our partnership in all our future work on AI.
IBM and Imperial will work together with our AI Alliance partners to define industry-wide frameworks for everything from hardware and application to policy making and regulation. Imperial produces some of the most advanced research and policy thinking on the ethics and implications of AI, while IBM bring industry experience. Together, we will be a powerful voice for ethical practices in AI on the world stage.
To that end, the MoU also commits IBM and Imperial to participate together on EU projects. Earlier this year, the UK rejoined Horizon Europe: the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation aimed at addressing global challenges and driving economic growth. By joining forces, IBM and Imperial can place climate, sustainability and AI at the centre of Horizon’s agenda.
I am confident that the work IBM and Imperial do together over the coming years will contribute to making Britain a true world-leader in AI. This MoU would not have been possible without the work of Imperial’s Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance to identify the sectors where the College can make the most difference. It is a testament to Imperial’s entrepreneurial problem-solving spirit, and something I would like to see embraced across higher education.
Dr. Juan Bernabé-Moreno is the Director of IBM Research in Europe. He leads three labs in Ireland and the UK, working on cutting-edge science and technologies in the areas of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, multi-cloud, and semiconductors. Dr. Bernabé-Moreno is also responsible for the Accelerated Discovery Strategy for Climate and Sustainability, leading a team of researchers across seven global research labs to explore how the convergence of AI, quantum computing and hybrid cloud can accelerate the discovery of sustainability and climate solutions. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from University of Granada and is the recipient of several patents.
The Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance at Imperial College London investigates how to improve the competitiveness of the UK economy and drive economic growth. It is a joint initiative between Imperial’s Faculty of Engineering and the Imperial College Business School – bringing together the UK’s top engineers, scientists and economists with the UK’s science and technology industries to co-design globally competitive strategies for major global challenges like net zero, economic competition and technological disruptions.