Realising the full potential of artificial intelligence that benefits all citizens requires international collaboration and coordination, Canada and France are working with the international community to create the International Panel on Artificial Intelligence to support and guide the responsible development of artificial intelligence that is grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.
The Panel will be an organization dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) that will bring together many of the greatest global AI experts. It will be a global reference point on AI, fostering international collaboration and coordination on AI policy development.
Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, alongside France’s Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, Cédric O, announced the Declaration of the International Panel on Artificial Intelligence for discussion, and announced further details on the organizational structure of the Panel.
The Declaration states that participants in the Panel will commit to the following shared values, including in their development, use, and adoption of AI:
- Promote and protect a human-centric and ethical approach to AI, grounded in human rights
- Support a multistakeholder approach to AI
- Stimulate innovation, growth and well-being through AI
- Align efforts on AI with the principles of sustainable development and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Strengthen diversity and inclusion through AI
- Foster transparency and openness of AI systems
- Foster trust and accountability in AI
- Promote and protect democratic values, processes and institutions
- Bridge the digital divides
- Promote international scientific collaboration on AI
Minister Bains and Secretary O announced the Declaration following their participation in the G7 Digital Ministerial meeting. Under the overarching theme of Building Digital Trust Together, ministers reflected on the requirements and values essential in digital innovation and the role that emerging technologies can play in combating inequality.
During the G7 Digital Ministerial meeting, France and Canada received expressions of interest on IPAI from Germany, Italy, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, New-Zealand and the European Union, and will continue discussions with interested participants on the design of the Panel.
The Panel will be formally launched later this year at the Biarritz summit and will include a Steering Committee and Working Groups, each focused on an identified topic related to AI, such as its governance, its technological development or its impacts, for instance on the Future of Work. as well as a Secretariat. The Panel will also convene in an annual conference of international AI experts, called the “Multistakeholder Experts Group Plenary”.
Secretary O also announced that France will host a “Global Forum on AI for Humanity” to be held on 29-30 October in Paris. This event, aimed at informing possible priority areas of work for IPAI, will assemble AI experts and stakeholders from around the world, drawn from the public and private sectors, academic and scientific communities, as well as civil society more broadly.
Sources:
Government of France