LG AI Research Takes a Leap as 'Global AI Research Hub'

• Directly led by top AI scholar, Honglak Lee, Chief Scientist of AI at LG AI Research and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan
• 'LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor' will enhance AI collaborative research with the University of Michigan
  - Serve as a base to expand industry-academic cooperation with prestigious North American AI universities and research institutes to brace open innovation
• The center will strengthen its own research capabilities to advance next generation AI technology by actively recruiting AI talents in North America
• "Opening of the North American Center is the first step for LG AI Research to enter the global scene beyond South Korea. We will expand our line of sight and stretch points of contact to universities and research institutes around the world to facilitate top-level research collaborations," Said Honglak Lee

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LG AI Research (www.lgresearch.ai) is expanding the global AI research ecosystem to North America by opening 'LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor', in Michigan on March 22nd.

'LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor' is LG's first global AI research base directly led by Honglak Lee (Chief Scientist of AI and a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan), one of the world's top AI scholars.

LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor strengthens AI research collaboration with the University of Michigan

'LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor' will serve as a key base leading the global AI research cooperation ecosystem led by Honglak Lee.

In addition, Professor Moontae Lee of the University of Illinois, who joined LG AI Research earlier this year and is in charge of Fundamental Research Lab which studies large models and advanced AI technologies, will also lead the research of LG AI Research Center.

The University of Michigan (U-M), a world-renowned university, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where 'LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor' will be built. U-M possesses the world's best AI research capabilities to the extent that it was selected as one of the best AI programs in grad schools by U.S. News & World Report.

LG AI Research signed an MOU with the University of Michigan College of Engineering in February and a Master Research Agreement in March to support joint research activities on advanced AI technologies and to connect with excellent talent, and the cooperation begins in earnest with the opening of LG AI Research Center.

At the opening ceremony, 9 professors leading AI research at the University of Michigan including Eric Michielssen, Associate Dean of Research at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, and Michael Wellman, the Richard H. Orenstein Division Chair of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), as well as LG AI Research officials— Honglak Lee and Lab Director Moontae Lee — were present. Along with several U-M faculty members, they attended to share current AI research topics and discussed future collaboration plans.

"Through our partnership with LG AI, students and faculty will be able to trade expertise with our counterparts at one of the most innovative AI research centers in the world," said Michielssen.

"Our faculty and students are excited to strengthen and deepen the existing cooperation with LG AI Research, to advance highly complex and interdisciplinary AI research, in areas like machine learning, natural language processing, and compositional task generalization," said Wellman.

LG AI Research plans to strengthen open innovation by expanding industry-academic cooperation with several prestigious AI universities and research institutes in North America, starting with the University of Michigan.

LG AI Research will also strengthen its own research capabilities, such as actively recruiting North American AI talent to advance next generation AI technology at 'LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor', the global research base.

LG AI Research is also actively recruiting talented people from North America to strengthen the research capabilities of LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor. 

After holding a recruitment briefing session for AI major graduate students at the University of Michigan on the 23^rd, the day after the opening event, LG AI Research plans to quickly expand the scope of employment to all regions of North America and lay the groundwork to become a 'global AI research hub'.

LG AI Research Center, Ann Arbor will advance AI technologies such as Deep Reinforcement Learning, 3D Scene Understanding, and Reasoning with a Large-scale Language Model and Bias & Fairness related to AI ethics, which are the basis for creating AI that thinks and judges on its own with the talents recruited from North America.

"Opening of the North American Center is the first step for LG AI Research to enter the global scene beyond South Korea. We will expand our line of sight and stretch points of contact to universities and research institutes around the world to facilitate top-level research collaborations," Said Honglak Lee.

Meanwhile, Kwangmo Koo, the chairman and CEO of LG Corporation, said that when LG AI Research launched in December 2020, he will support the best talents and partners gathered to challenge the world to their heart's content and make the institute to become the center of the global AI ecosystem.

Thanks to this, LG AI Research announced plans to increase the number of core research personnel over 100 by 2021 and to secure global AI global leadership by nurturing 1,000 AI experts within the group by 2023. As a result, the strategy of securing excellent talent and expanding the global AI research ecosystem has gained more momentum.

About LG AI Research

We made our first challenging step on December 2020 to introduce AI that will present a better life to humanity.

LG AI Research leads the strengthening of AI capabilities as an affiliate of the LG Group.

We research the latest AI technologies, disseminate them to our electronic, chemical, and communications service affiliates, and carry out activities that will best utilize AI in all areas of LG’s businesses.

Our main office is in Seoul, South Korea and North American branch is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. For more information, please visit our website(www.lgresearch.ai).

[email protected]

SOURCE LG AI Research