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Google is shelling out $400 million to buy a secretive artificial intelligence company called DeepMind.Report: Google to Acquire AI Firm, DeepMind For $400 Million [recode.net]Based in London, DeepMind was founded by games prodigy and neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, along with Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman.
...sources in the artificial intelligence community describe the company as a formidable AI player and say it has been aggressively recruiting in the space. One source said DeepMind has a team of at least 50 people and has secured more than $50 million in funding. This person described DeepMind as "the last large independent company with a strong focus on artificial intelligence," and said it competed with companies like Google, Facebook and Baidu for talent.
Google, which is acquiring DeepMind Technologies, has agreed to establish an ethics board to ensure the artificial intelligence technology isn't abused, according to two people familiar with the deal.
The unusual step of establishing the ethics committee comes as Google, which is paying more than $500 million to acquire the company, won the deal over Facebook, several people familiar with negotiations said....
