Creating fairness in artificial intelligence (AI) is a key goal in designing AI systems capable of addressing big challenges in the world. To help achieve that goal, in 2019 the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Amazon announced a collaboration to accelerate research on fairness in AI, with each organization committing around $10 million over three years.
To date, in two rounds of proposal submissions, NSF has awarded 21 research grants in areas such as ensuring fairness in AI algorithms and the systems that incorporate them, using AI to promote equity in society, and developing principles for human interaction with AI-based systems.
Amazon and NSF are now seeking submissions for the third year of the NSF Fairness in AI program. This year, the focus is on theoretical and algorithmic foundations; principles for human interaction with AI systems; technologies such as natural language understanding and computer vision; and applications including hiring decisions, education, criminal justice, and human services. Researchers are requested to submit proposals that touch on topics such as transparency, explainability, accountability, inclusivity, potential adverse biases and effects, mitigation strategies, algorithmic advances, fairness objectives, and more.
“Understanding how AI systems can be designed on principles of fairness, transparency and trustworthiness will advance the boundaries of AI applications, and will help us build a more equitable society in which all citizens benefit from these technologies,” said Henry Kautz, director of NSF’s Division of Information and Intelligent Systems.
NSF’s announcement of this new round of funding notes that the work to be supported is interdisciplinary, and draws on research in computer science, mathematics, psychology, and the social sciences.
NSF and Amazon expect these varied perspectives to be critical for the study of fairness in AI. NSF's ability to bring together multiple scientific disciplines while building AI that is fair and unbiased is an important aspect of Amazon's AI initiatives.
Proposal submissions for the third round of fairness in AI research are due August 3. More information about the Fairness in AI program, including contact information and details on recent awards, is available on NSF's website, and via the program announcement.
Amazon provides partial funding for the program but does not play a role in the selection of proposals for grant awards.
