Big brands are trying to figure out how to use AI across multiple departments, and tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, OpenAI, and Google are all racing to position their solutions within corporate America.
But beneath this fanfare, Google has a little-known tech incubator called Jigsaw that’s trying to develop AI for more civic-minded purposes.
Created in 2011, Jigsaw studies how emerging tech impacts the world, and builds tools to mitigate some of the more harmful effects, like online harassment. It also tries to protect free speech, enhance civic deliberation, and more.
The public emergence of AI products has made this initiative more urgent.
Jigsaw has built new tools off of Google’s AI models like Perspective API and Sensemaker, have been adopted by platforms and publishers like The New York Times, OpenWeb, and Reddit, as well as local governments and universities.
“We’re helping make these divided communities that we live in discuss contested topics together in a way that’s civil, with the hopes that a lot more of us will stop lurking and start participating,” Beth Goldberg, Jigsaw’s head of research and development, said on stage at C2 Montréal on Thursday.
What Could BG Be?
In February, Jigsaw brought Sensemaker to Bowling Green, Kentucky to pilot the tech and help local leaders gain insights from residents, because the town projected growth to double over the next 25 years.
“What would happen if our technology could really help leaders listen to what their community wanted?” said Spencer Baim, Jigsaw’s head of brand, creative, and marketing, on stage alongside Goldberg. “What if our tech allowed thousands of people to participate in an ongoing conversation about their future?”
