Sony AI Names Peter Stone as Chief Scientist

TOKYO – July 30, 2024 – Sony AI today named Peter Stone as its new Chief Scientist, among other executive appointments. In this new role, Stone will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of AI as he helps to guide key projects, support researchers across the organization and foster collaboration between key flagship projects. The chief scientist will mentor researchers in pushing the boundaries of AI while ensuring ethical considerations are at the forefront.

With over 30 years of experience in computer science and AI across academia and the private sector, Stone is one of the leading experts in machine learning, multi-agent systems, and robotics. He has contributed significantly to research in areas such as deep reinforcement learning for Sony AI’s breakthrough AI agent Gran Turismo Sophy^TM (GT Sophy), as well as robot perception, navigation and manipulation, robot soccer, and more.

In addition to his role as Chief Scientist, Stone has also been appointed as Deputy President of Sony AI, along with Pete Wurman. In these expanded roles, Stone and Wurman will play a key role in shaping the technical direction and project goal-setting of the organization, helping to further Sony AI's position as a leader in AI research and development.

Wurman, a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, has made pioneering contributions to AI and its real-world applications. His work includes serving as Project Lead for GT Sophy, where he helped make the AI agent a permanent feature in Gran Turismo^TM 7, and co-founding Kiva Systems, which revolutionized warehousing with mobile robots and was later acquired by Amazon in 2012.

Along with his work at Sony AI, Stone also concurrently serves as a Senior Vice President at Sony Corporation of America as well as the Truchard Foundation Chair of Computer Science and Director of Texas Robotics at the University of Texas at Austin.

About Sony AI

Sony AI, a division of Sony Research, was founded as a subsidiary of Sony Group on April 1, 2020, with the mission to "unleash human imagination and creativity with AI." Sony AI aims to combine cutting-edge research and development of artificial intelligence with Sony Group's imaging and sensing technology, robotics technology, and entertainment assets such as movies, music, and games to accelerate Sony’s transformation into an AI-powered company and to create new business opportunities. To achieve this, Sony AI is working across six Flagship Projects that are aimed at the evolution and application of AI technology in the areas of AI for Creators, Gaming and Interactive Agents, Ethics, Scientific Discovery, Imaging and Sensing, and Robotics and Sensing. For more information visit https://ai.sony.com.

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