Artificial Intelligence (AI) concepts and tools will drive the most critical changes in our society for the next decades. The term Artificial Intelligence comprises different aspects that include machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, speech and image recognition, and robotics. The cross-cutting character of AI allows us to attack a wide variety of problems that could improve society and guide new public policies. From self-driving vehicles, medical diagnosis, physical assistance to the disabled and the elderly, public safety and in the entertainment industry the impact of recent advances in AI has been enormous. The AI techniques, associated with the abundant amount of digital data and the ubiquitous computing processing power in the cloud, will undoubtedly try to supply the high public demand for innovative digital services.

The Advanced Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) is a consortium of researchers that gets together different experts in AI and intends to tackle relevant problems for the society with the fundamental support of the private sector. We are committed to openness and inclusiveness, gathering together all outstanding researchers in AI with a collaborative and constructive spirit to boldly attack challenging problems with high social and economic impact.

Several important players in the international arena, like China, Canada, Japan, USA and some European countries, have already recognized the essential role that AI will play in the development of society in next years. We aim to help to improve society as a whole and, in particular, fostering the Brazilian growth in this area to maintain the country engaged in the state-of-the-art advances in the field.

We welcome the participation of individuals and organizations that share our principles. AI2 will not be limited to researchers from São Paulo or even from Brazil, but it will aggregate outstanding partners from all over the world that share our principles and desires. The quality of the researchers will determine the success of this initiative. We will try, on a best effort basis, to bring new partners and contributors to this initiative.