Danny Lange from Unity: We will democratize AI development
Posted: 27 May 2021
Six questions for Danny Lange
Introducing Machine Learning superstar and innovator Danny Lange as Digital Tech Summit keynote speaker.
By Morten Andersen
Surely you get many invites for being keynote speaker. What made you accept the one for DTS?
“Oh yes - I get more invitations than I can keep track of, but DTS obviously jumped to the front of the line with its declared focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning - technologies that are transforming our world and poised to become the next great opportunity for Danish companies.”
What are your views on the general level of Danish digital tech? Are we doing things right – should we (as a small country) focus on specific niche applications or can we strive to be in on mainstream AI development?
“Throughout the years I have had a keen interest in Danish tech companies. I am on the board of several Danish tech companies including 2021.AI an enterprise AI company with a strong focus on AI Governance, and ZeroNorth, a Maersk company that is using AI to decarbonize the shipping industry. These companies are both good examples of Danish innovation in partnership with a strong social purpose. The upcoming AI Pioneer Centre in Copenhagen is another reason to be optimistic. With the backing of five Danish universities, we see the ambitions of bringing Danish research in AI to the very top.”
Leading researchers here argue that Denmark could lead in a new type of “Safe AI”, meaning non-invasive AI which would respect privacy and societal values. Do you agree?
“Denmark is in many ways already leading the way in responsible use of technology with a particular emphasis on respect for privacy and societal values. AI is a new and extraordinarily powerful technology and in combination with highly digitalized society such as the Danish, AI can have disruptive effects. My belief is that Denmark has a unique opportunity to take the lead with Responsible AI in a cooperation between government, research institution, and private industry.”
What do you mean by saying that Unity products will democratize AI development?
“Unity’s AI Product vision is that of enabling organizations of all sizes to create, deploy, and unlock the value of AI in Computer Vision, Robotics, and Gaming. We have demonstrated our ability to reach thousands of game developers ranging from hobbyists to large studios with platform and tools. With over half of the world’s games being developed on the Unity platform, we hope to repeat that success in the space of AI. As I mentioned, AI is a potentially disruptive technology and I firmly believe that the more developers we enable to become AI literate the better it will be for the society.”
Anything particular you will be looking for at DTS?
“At DTS I am looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and a chance to get to know new people in the Danish AI scene. I am very excited for this opportunity.”
Any other messages you would have for the DTS participants?
“Well, the organizers have assembled a truly fascinating program and this will be a fantastic forum for the participants to broaden their understanding of key aspects of AI. Everybody should feel invited to this event as the topics range from deep technical aspects of research in AI to the application of the technology and its societal impact. Personally, I hope to meet a diverse group of interested participants as AI needs to be built with input from all walks of life. See you there!”
Danny Lange is Vice President of AI and Machine Learning at video game software development corporation Unity Technologies. Today headquartered in San Francisco, USA, Unity was founded in Denmark in 2004 as Over the Edge Entertainment. Although Danish himself, Danny Lange had no involvement in the company during its first years, but only joined in 2016.
In the 1990’ies he worked at IBM Research Tokyo, then at General Magic 1997-2002. In 2001, he founded Silicon Valley startup Vocomo Software which was acquired by Voxeo in 2005. Further, Danny Lange has contributed to AI and Machine Learning development in senior positions at Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Uber.
