Connecting AI development to public value is more important than ever. AI@Cam will drive a new wave of challenge-led innovation, tackling the implementation gap between our aspirations for AI and our ability to deploy it to tackle major societal challenges. We want to generate new thinking about the role of AI in addressing major challenges, build coalitions in areas of need, and create partnerships to take research from lab to real-world benefit.

An ambitious, multidisciplinary programme of challenge-led, AI-enabled innovation supported by AI@Cam will spin up new research teams, develop collaborations with business, policymakers and civil society, and take innovative ideas from the lab to application. Research teams supported by AI@Cam’s AI-deas scheme will have access to funding and research support to scale their work and impact.

To start, we’re inviting researchers across the University of Cambridge to submit concept papers setting out their idea for how AI could serve science, citizens, and society at this link by 09:00 on 6 October 2023.

We’ll convene researchers working on connected themes together to establish a challenge-led research programme that can drive a step-change in AI research, policy, and practice, and we’ll work with you to develop this programme.

We’ll provide start-up funding of £150k, and we’ll work with challenge teams to support your progress. If we have a large number of high-quality challenges proposed, there’ll be a selection stage where we identify which proposals receive funding in years one and two of our work. For further information, please read the FAQs below.

For further information, please read the FAQs on our Initiatives page or join our drop-in session on 19 September, from 13:00 – 14:00 (register to receive Zoom details at this link).