The Generative AI Laboratory (GAIL) invites applications for a second round of seed funding. GAIL seeks to push the frontiers of Generative AI to create impact through a variety of mechanisms including societal benefit and economic growth. GAIL builds on the University’s world-class research in Natural Language Processing, AI and machine learning - and the application of those techniques to a variety of fields such as healthcare, fintech and sustainability – with consideration of the social, ethical, political and economic implications of their adoption.Kick-startThis round of seed funding is intended to kick-start new research initiatives and build a multidisciplinary community of researchers in the area of Generative AI. The funding is for researchers in Generative AI across all three colleges of the University of Edinburgh. Linus Zoll & Google DeepMind / Better Images of AI / Generative Image models / CC-BY 4.0 We invite applications for short-term projects - 6 months or less. Projects should align with the GAIL priorities to create a community of active researchers in Generative AI and to establish a national and international profile. Proposals Please submit proposals by 5pm Wednesday 13 November 2024. Proposals will be assessed by a committee formed by the interim co-directors of GAIL - Mirella Lapata, Kev Dhaliwal and Jane Hillston - and representatives from each of the Colleges. We plan to inform successful applicants at the end of November and anticipate that projects will take place between 1 January and 30 June 2025. All funded researchers and their projects will be featured on the GAIL website. Frequently asked questions 1. Who can apply? Members of University of Edinburgh research staff - both faculty and postdoctoral researchers working on Generative AI and related fields; proposals that involve collaboration are particularly welcomed. 2. How do I apply? Please submit a one-page proposal (excluding references) to the GAIL Head of Business and Operations, Kirsty Dillingham Gen.AILab@ed.ac.uk. Proposals should specify: (a) the project to be undertaken, including its objectives and how it aligns with the GAIL priorities;(b) a description of the activity to be undertaken and resources needed; (c) at least one tangible deliverable or artefact (e.g., meeting, demo, dataset, research proposal); and (d) a budget and realistic plans for how the funds will be spent by 31 July 2025 – please take into account lead time for on expenditure, if applicable. 3. What should I apply for? The seed fund is approximately 200K GBP, we would like to fund ten projects or more and all expenditure must be incurred by 31 July 2025 (funds cannot be carried forward into the next financial year). Proposals could be requesting funds to, for example: organise a seminar series or a workshop, including travel for invited speakers,organise a hackathon or competition, to explore novel uses of LLMs, design, run and evaluate an experimental study using LLMs, scope out a multidisciplinary effort across the University, preliminary research to support proposal preparation for an external funding application,compensation for experiment participants, compilation of datasets,compute time, explore a possible commercialisation idea. Examples of projects funded in the previous round include a workshop on efficient LLMs and the creation of datasets related to finance. These are just examples; we are happy to consider other ideas. However, bear in mind that some activities are not eligible such as consulting, personal travel, and conference costs. If you have any questions, please send an email to Gen.AILab@ed.ac.uk This article was published on 2024-10-16
