The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI) is having a matching funds challenge. All funds donated to the Singularity Institute before July 6, 2007 will be matched by one of their underwriters, up to $400,000 in matching funds. Currently they have collected just over $100,000 in funds to be matched by one of their large donors, like Peter Thiel of PayPal.

Here's a video of some of the major players in the SIAI talking about some of the problems facing the institute, some of the challenges of developing a general AI, some of the implications, and what the institute is generally aiming to achieve.

The funds from the 2007 challenge will support the following programs.

• SIAI Research Program (Postdoctoral Fellow, Ph.D. Scholar, Research Programmer)
• The Singularity Summit 2007 (September 8-9, Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco, CA)
• SIAI Research Fellowship Program & Fund (to Support Present & Future Research Fellows)
• SIAI Fund Development (Roundtable Dinners, Special Events, Foundation Grant Proposals)
• SIAI Educational Outreach & Marketing (Website, Blog, Newsletter, Media, Online Marketing)