In a bold sweeping visionary move, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which has always been on the bleeding edge of technology announced a $1 billion initiative Monday to establish a new college of computing to train the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning whiz kids.

It is one of the most sizable commitments to building out the talent-hungry artificial intelligence field. Yet it is completely explicable as MIT is one of the birthplaces of artificial intelligence. The world’s first artificial research group began at MIT in 1959. Today, well-known roboticist Daniela Rus is the director of MIT’s groundbreaking Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL).

Earlier this year, MIT also announced an initiative, called the Quest for Intelligence, that aims to make breakthroughs in AI by bringing together researchers from cognitive science and neuroscience as well as computer science.

Headquartered in a gleaming new building on MIT’s sprawling campus, the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing will be an interdisciplinary hub for work in computer science, AI, data science, and related fields. Two-thirds of the planned $1 billion commitment has been raised so far, with $350 million coming from Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of the private equity firm Blackstone.

The new college to be named after Schwarzman, will include 50 new faculty positions, half of which will focus solely on computer science, while the rest are jointly appointed by the college and other MIT departments. The college is scheduled to open in September 2019, and its new building is planned to be completed in 2022.

“As computing reshapes our world, MIT intends to help make sure it does so for the good of all,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif, adding that the new initiative will help to reshape MIT as both a global centre for computing research and education, and an “intellectual foundry for powerful new AI tools.”

Artificial intelligence is fundamental to our future. From voice-powered personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, to more fundamental technologies such as behavioral algorithms, suggestive searches on Google and self-driving cars, there are several examples and powerful applications of artificial intelligence in use today.

Major countries and companies around the world are now locked in a battle for AI talent and technological supremacy, with the US currently seen as being marginally ahead of an ambitious China.

In June, China’s prestigious Tsinghua University announced the opening of a dedicated artificial intelligence research centre. The Tsinghua University Institute for Artificial Intelligence, is led by Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Zhang Bo and the Turing Award Laureate Andrew Chi-Chih Yao.

MIT, however, has been very strategic in keeping abreast of developments in the field. Earlier this year, MIT announced an initiative, called the Quest for Intelligence, that aims to make breakthroughs in artificial intelligence by bringing together researchers from cognitive science and neuroscience as well as computer science.