Global panel planned to study changes wrought by AI

The governments of France and Canada said last week they would create a joint International Panel on Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) to study and respond to the changes resulting from artificial intelligence and facilitate an international collaboration focused on sharing research and best practices. The mission of the IPAI “will be to support and guide the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence that is human-centric and grounded in respect for human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.” The announcement was made by Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau and Mounir Mahjobi, the French secretary of state for digital affairs, in conjunction with the G7 Multistakeholder Conference on Artificial Intelligence that took place last week in Montreal, Quebec.

According to the proposed mandate, the IPAI will rely on the expertise of the scientific community, industry, civil society and governments to conduct analysis in order to guide AI policy development and adoption that is grounded in human rights. At the request of its members, it will produce reports and assessments and establish working groups to share information. It aims to cover the field of AI by considering the perspective related to:

• scientific and technological advances;
• economic transformation;
• respect for human rights;
• the collective and society;
• geopolitical developments; and,
• cultural diversity.