An American billionaire and adviser to Donald Trump has given Oxford University its largest single donation"since the Renaissance" to investigate the ethics of artificial intelligence.
The £150m gift from Stephen A Schwarzman, chief executive and co-founder of US investment and private equity firm Blackstone, is reported to be the biggest ever single donation to a UK university. A centre named after the philanthropist will house all of the university's humanities subjects for the first time and is expected to open in 2024.It will also be home to Oxford University's new Institute for Ethics in AI, which will explore questions affecting the workplace and society.
Mr Schwarzman, who is not an Oxford graduate, said he was"proud" to partner with the university as AI is going to be the"fourth revolution"."It is going to impact jobs, excellence, efficiency and it is a force for amazing good and also a potential force for not good," he told the BBC's Today programme.
"What is important about it isn't just what it can do, but making sure it is introduced in a way unlike the internet.
Schwarzman?
Ahhh are their students going to protest this on the basis of inequality?
Good. We have seen the films and predicted how it turns out. Why do we need to take the chance?