Artificial Intelligence research projects to benefit from €125,000 fund

Artificial Intelligence projects are now eligible for financing from a €125,000 research fund unveiled on Tuesday by Economy Minister Silvio Schembri in collaboration with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority.

Each chosen project would benefit from a maximum €25,000 in aid, meaning that at least five projects would be eligible for the scheme.

Schembri mentioned how in 2019, Malta launched the national strategy for Artificial Intelligence and stressed on the need for AI to be embraced by all industries and services, including the public and private sectors.

He mentioned how financial assistance had been supplied to a project, which developed a speech and text recognition system for Maltese. “This project is a clear demonstration of how artificial intelligence can help with the education of our children,” Schembri stated.

“We believe and appreciate that expenses are involved in research, both in terms of wages and equipment. There is never a guarantee that research would lead to results, so thanks to the fund, we are providing hope to and helping researchers pursue their projects,” Schembri emphasised.

Schembri also stated he believes research should not be something owned exclusively by educative institutions and should be more mainstream, even on a commercial and industrial level.

MDIA chairperson Joshua Ellul said AI is prevalent in the present day, as not a day goes by that one doesn’t use the technology, when listening to music, ordering food and accessing information online.

"AI is software based on previous experience and data, it is heavily dependent on data and experience fed into it," Ellul stated.

He remarked that apart from students, today’s innovators should also be supported in order to help pave the way for better use of the technology.