Sony's artificial intelligence (AI) subsidiary Sony AI, created in April 2020, has chosen Barcelona for the launch of a new AI research and development office in Europe. Located near Plaça de Catalunya, the company already speaks of it as its nerve centre in the region.

This is the fourth Sony AI headquarters and will aim to tackle major new challenges in order to support creators by enhancing human imagination and creativity through AI. Among other areas, it will focus on the organisation's new flagship project, Scientific Discovery, led by senior research scientist Tarek Besold. It will also embrace gastronomy, with research such as enhancing the understanding of tastes and smells through AI and even using them to generate multi-sensory experiences.

Recruitment process
The company justifies the choice of the Catalan capital as one of the most creative, innovative and scientific regions in Europe. It is currently in the process of recruiting researchers and engineers for the new offices.

The flagship project led by Besold plans to address new AI challenges by focusing on tools and systems that support the work of scientists around the world. By combining AI and cognitive science, it will seek to improve the knowledge and creativity of scientists in the early stages of their work process, so that they can create new hypotheses.

A long history of experimentation
Sony AI's president, Michael Spranger, appreciates that Barcelona "has a long history of scientific, artistic and culinary experimentation, as well as connections to some of the world's best-known pioneers, such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The region is also home to many research universities with established AI programmes and key technology and science organisations."

Tarek Besold says it is a city "where limits are overcome and ideas flourish. As we expand our knowledge within the Scientific Discovery project, I look forward to seeing how the region's mindset serves as a catalyst for inspiration within our organisation."

^{Photo: Sony}