Minister Champagne wraps up participation at U.K.’s global summit on artificial intelligence safety
Bletchley Park – François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, concluded a two-day visit to Bletchley Park, United Kingdom, where the British government hosted the first-ever AI Safety Summit. During the summit, leaders discussed how best to manage the risks from so-called frontier AI systems—highly capable general-purpose AI software programs or algorithms that match or exceed present-day capabilities.
The summit was an opportunity for Canada to build on its strong global leadership in responsible AI, which includes the launch of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) in June 2020 and ongoing work on the global dialogue on AI through the G7 Hiroshima AI Process and the Organisation for Economic Development and Co‑operation’s Working Party on AI Governance.
At Bletchley Park, Minister Champagne led a discussion among governmental leaders from around the globe on risks to safety from frontier AI misuse, highlighting Canada’s recent Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems.
Leaders from the 28 participating countries and the European Union signed The Bletchley Declaration agreeing to identify the risks and opportunities of AI, build a global understanding of frontier AI risks, and collaborate on AI scientific research, emphasizing the need to safety-test AI models against a range of critical national security and societal risks.
“Canada continues to play a leading role on the global governance and responsible use of AI. The summit at Bletchley Park was all about acknowledgment, action, adaptation and, most importantly, trust. It is critical and urgent that we all come together to build public trust around this transformational technology. Canada was the first country to adopt a national AI strategy, we recently launched a voluntary AI code of conduct for advanced AI systems, and we are moving ahead with one of the first AI laws in the world. We look forward to continuing our work with like-minded countries to move confidently from fear to opportunity.” – François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry