$20M to Establish Centre for Augmented Reasoning at AIML

Australia’s position as a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will be further boosted thanks to $20 million announced in the Federal Budget towards a new national centre, to be based at the University of Adelaide.

The Centre for Augmented Reasoning is an investment by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment in people and research to make computers better at interacting with humans, so that all technology is easier and safer to use.

$20.0 million over four years from 2020-21 to establish a Centre for Augmented Reasoning at the University of Adelaide to improve the application of machine learning in AustraliaBudget Measures, Budget Paper No. 2, 2020–21

Starting next year, the Centre will support Advanced Reasoning research through grants and PhD scholarships, facilitate innovation and rapid commercialisation, and increase AI literacy and engagement in Australia. 

AI and machine learning is one of the fastest moving research sectors in academia, and this investment will strengthen AIML’s reputation as one of the world's best institutions in this field. 

Augmented reasoning is a new and emerging form of artificial intelligence (AI) that combines an advanced ability to learn patterns (using traditional machine learning) with an ability to reason.

“Augmented reasoning gives machines an ability to solve some of the current frustrations with computers and technology that everyone experiences,” says Professor Anton van den Hengel, Director of AIML.

“One of the frustrations of using computers today is that we all need to learn how to speak ‘computer’ to use them effectively. The goal of the Centre for Augmented Reasoning is to make computers more capable of understanding us, our instructions and needs, through a more natural conversation.

“We want to enable machines to be able to discover new things in an ongoing partnership with humans, and also explain their recommendations more easily. 

“This has the potential to more easily uncover inbuilt biases, gives decision makers more confidence in recommendations, and makes AI more flexible and lower cost to use.

“Augmented reasoning will reduce the need for structured interfaces between humans and machines – such as keyboards, drop down menus and command lines – and will enable machines and humans to interact in ways that make more sense to us all.

“The applications of this field of research are only limited by our imaginations,” he says.