Joint Press Release issued by M. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister For Europe And Foreign Affairs, Mme Frédérique Vidal, Minister For Higher Education, Research And Innovation And M. Cédric O, Minister Of State For The Digital Transition And Electronic Communication (7 December 2020)

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On the occasion of the first Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) in Montreal on 4 December 2020, M. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mme Frédérique Vidal, Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, and M. Cédric O, Minister of State for the Digital Transition and Electronic Communication, welcome the successful expansion of the Franco-Canadian GPAI initiative to include four new member States.

The first GPAI summit, held in Montreal on 3 and 4 December 2020, crowns two years of intense work by France and Canada’s digital diplomacies, following the appeal launched by M. Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic, and Prime Minister Mr Justin Trudeau, in the Franco-Canadian statement on artificial intelligence of June 2018.

GPAI, officially launched on 15 June 2020, includes 15 founder members: France, Canada, Germany, Australia, South Korea, the United States, Italy, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Slovenia and the European Union.

The purpose of this international, multi-stakeholder initiative is to promote a responsible use of AI, with due regard for human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth. To achieve these goals, member countries are working, through GPAI, on bridging the gap between theory and practice, supporting research activities and the application of reliable artificial intelligence.

Democratic values, human rights, responsibility, transparency, diversity, inclusion and protection of privacy are at the heart of GPAI’s values and work.

At this first summit, GPAI’s bodies (Steering Committee and Council) were officially set up and the initial work done by its researchers was presented in plenary session. The experts are supported, inter alia, by two centres of expertise situated in Paris, hosted by Inria, and Montreal, hosted by the International Centre of Expertise in Montreal for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (ICEMAI). Working groups are focusing on four main topics: “Future of Work” and “Innovation and Commercialization” in Paris, and “Responsible AI” and “Data Governance” in Montreal. An additional group devoted to COVID-19 was launched in 2020 to help tackle the global health crisis.

The session also confirmed the momentum generated by the initiative. Four new member States have thus joined the initiative (the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Brazil), bringing the number of GPAI member States to 19. The newly elected members of the Steering Committee comprise five States (France, Canada, the United States, Italy and Japan) and six AI experts (see list below).

France, which has been designated to hold the incoming vice-presidency, will hold the presidency in 2022. Canada will hold the presidency until autumn 2021. The next GPAI summit will take place in Paris.

List of experts on the GPAI Steering Committee:

  • Baroness Joanna Shields (Chair of the Multi-stakeholder Experts Group Plenary)
  • Ashley J. Llorens (Science)
  • Francesca Rossi (Industry)
  • Carly Kind (Civil society)
  • Christina J.Colclough (Labour/social partners)
  • Association for the Advancement of AI (AAAI) (international organization)

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