Dr. Sebastian Seung, a Harvard laureate and Princeton University professor of computer engineering, has been named the new head of Samsung Research, the conglomerate said Wednesday. The Korean-American scientist specializing in artificial intelligence research will be in charge of no fewer than 15 research and development centers across 15 countries. That's not including another seven centers solely focused on AI technologies which also operate under the same Samsung Research banner and will answer to Dr. Seung.
With this appointment, Samsung is clearly positioning AI as the front and center of its long-term R&D efforts. That's hardly a surprise and doesn't exactly spell any immediate changes in everyday goings at Samsung Research. Much like the rest of the technology industry, Samsung has been committing significant resources to embracing machine learning and AI in general across every aspect of its business for a while now.
Samsung doubling down on AI – to nobody's surprise
After all, consumer electronics have been benefitting from AI advancements for a while now, including those made by Samsung. Yet Dr. Seung's promotion still comes as somewhat of a surprise seeing how he's far from what could be considered a company veteran, having only joined Samsung two years ago. Then again, he was hired for the position of Chief Research Scientist, making his new promotion a logical one.
Samsung Research has most recently spearheaded many of the chaebol's relief efforts stemming from the global coronavirus crisis. Besides technical expertise and various initiatives, the company's R&D arm also produced some practical tools like an educational smartwatch app meant to help users learn better hygiene habits with little to no hassle.
