Google names London headquarters Platform 37, launches AI Exchange for public learning

Google names London office 'Platform 37' in a nod to railway neighbour, AI 'Go' match

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Google has named its new London headquarters "Platform 37" in a nod to its neighbour, King's Cross railway station, and "Move 37" - a pivotal play made by DeepMind's AI system AlphaGo in a legendary match of the ancient boardgame Go against world champion Lee Sae Dol. Teams from Google and Google DeepMind, the company's AI research laboratory, will begin to move into Platform 37 ⁠in the summer, Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab said. "Move 37", played by AlphaGo almost 10 years ago to the day, was so unconventional human experts initially thought it was a mistake, Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind Co-Founder and CEO, said in a blog post about the building's new name on Thursday. But as the game unfolded, it became clear it enabled AlphaGo to win. "AlphaGo's victory heralded the ⁠beginning of what is now recognised as the modern era in AI," he said. The building, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels, stretches 330 metres adjacent to the railway tracks leading to ⁠King's Cross. Dubbed a "landscraper", it is longer than London's 310-metre Shard skyscraper is tall. Platform 37, Google's first wholly owned and designed building ⁠outside the United States, has had a long gestation since it was announced in 2013, including delays in fit ⁠out. Google said it would open "The AI Exchange", a community space where people can learn about AI, in the building later this year. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Platform 37 and The AI Exchange: new spaces for AI innovation and discovery

This content is generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental The UK is a center of extraordinary technological innovation with incredible talent and world-class institutions. Later this year, Google will build on this heritage by establishing our landmark King's Cross building in London alongside a historic European railway hub. Today, we're unveiling the building's name, Platform 37, and plans for The AI Exchange, a new public space dedicated to deepening understanding of artificial intelligence. The name is a nod to the building's location next to King's Cross station and to "Move 37," a pivotal play made by DeepMind's AI system AlphaGo in a now-legendary 2016 match against Go world champion Lee Sae Dol. Go is incredibly complex, with more possible board configurations than the number of atoms in the known universe, and has long been a proving ground for AI research. "Move 37" was so unconventional that human experts initially thought it was a mistake. But as the game unfolded, it became clear it enabled AlphaGo to win the game. AlphaGo's victory heralded the beginning of what is now recognized as the modern era in AI, and catalyzed our work using AI to tackle scientific problems. Since that breakthrough, our AI systems have helped accelerate advances in fields like materials discovery, fusion energy research, mathematical reasoning and biology. This summer, Google DeepMind and Google teams will begin to move into Platform 37. Together our world-leading AI researchers, engineers, ethicists and others will build on our track record of safe and responsible AI development.