Artificial intelligence on Google’s list

Google’s move could have massive implications in the future for employment and productivity.

Google project manager Julie Cattiau.

It’s known as “Project Euphonia”, named after a group of neotropical birds in the finch family.

“The name was the code name for the project and our publicity people usually change the name when a project goes public, but we liked it so much, we kept it,’’ Julie Cattiau said of the project she is running at Google’s global headquarters outside San Francisco, building technologies that can help people with speech impairments communicate more easily.

The Google artificial intelligence product manager is also working on a project that takes underwater data from whale species and works with shipping companies to try to avoid collisions with marine life such as humpback whales. Both projects are part of Google’s “AI for Social Good” program, which is tackling issues in areas such as healthcare, environmental conservation, agriculture and accessibility.

The global search giant is stepping up its work in the booming ­social impact sector in a move that could also have massive implications in the future for employment and productivity.

“There are a lot of small start-ups and companies who are doing work in the space of health who could leverage an API (an application program interface, or a set of protocols for building software applications) or a product that allows speech recognition to work better for individuals,” Ms Cattiau said.

In partnership with not for profits such as ALS Therapy Development Institute and ALS Residence Initiative, Google is recording voices of people who have the neurodegenerative condition ALS. Google is encouraging more people to provided recordings to increase its data sample.

Ms Cattiau notes that many of those who have so far made recordings have noted they have been unable to work because of their condition.

“If they can be understood by others more easily, they may be able to work. Definitely,’’ said Ms Cattiau. She also said the work of the AI for Social Good program on speech could feed into future ­advances of the Google Home ­assistant.

“For people who have disabilities, assistant technologies can be really awesome products,” she said. “A billion people around the world have a type of disability. Using an assisted tool can be great for them. If we can make it that Google Home works for people who have speech impairments, that could mean a bigger target audience for the products.”

Google is now questioning whether AI and machine learning applied to psychological, physiological and neurological data can be a positive disrupter in the approach to managing mental health.

Earlier this year, an Australian company, the Eastern Health Foundation, won a Google grant for its “Turning Point” program, working with Monash University to develop a national monitoring system to set international standards informing suicide prevention efforts.

The project involves using AI methodologies to streamline ­coding of national ambulance suicide-related attendance data.

Ambulances are often the first point of contact with someone who is suicidal, but ambulance clinical records are rarely consulted in the work to treat and prevent suicide.

Eastern Health claims the data can “play a key role in informing public health prevention, policy and intervention, as well as identifying emerging trends, hidden populations and geographical hot spots for targeted responses relating to suicide”.

In announcing the grant to Eastern Health earlier this year, Google.org president Jacquelline Fuller noted AI is at a nascent stage when it comes to the value it can have for the social impact ­sector. “We look forward to seeing the outcomes of this work and considering where there is potential for use to do even more,” Ms Fuller said.

Social impact investment is now big business, especially for high-net-worth individuals and families.

The latest UBS/Campden Wealth Global Family Office ­Report, which surveyed 360 family offices around the world with an average of $US917 million ($1.35bn) in assets under management, found that almost two-fifths (38 per cent) of family offices were now engaged in sustainable investing. The number of family offices making social impact investments has increased from one quarter in 2016 to one third in 2017. The most common areas of investment are education; housing and community development; agriculture and food.

More broadly, nearly half (45 per cent) of the families surveyed plan to increase their sustainable investments over the next 12 months, while 39 per cent of family offices projected that when the next generation takes control of their families’ wealth, they will increase their allocation to sustainable investing.

“Families of great wealth feel a deep-seated obligation to make a positive impact on the world, which is reflected in a consistently high level of philanthropic activity,’’ said Sara Ferrari, Head of UBS’s Global Family Office Group. “The family office structure allows them to go further and translate their values into financial returns through impact investment. Yet many are still to be persuaded to cross the line from interest to action. The appetite is there, but more work needs to be done to build the investment case and create opportunities.”

Google’s AI Impact Challenge, launched in 2018, offers $US25m in grants to charities and start-ups applying AI to social causes. Last month Google released a report detailing how social impact start-ups, non-profits, government policymakers, and academics were using machine learning to address some of humanity’s biggest problems. The assessment was the result of analysis of more than 2600 applications from 119 countries to the Google AI Impact Challenge.

But Ms Cattiau noted one important question was asked by all the judges: “Is AI actually the right tool to solve the problem?”

“AI is fashionable but it may not be the right tool. Sometimes methods that are cheaper and may not use as much data may be more suitable,’’ she said.