Global partnership to oversee AI ethics

A global government collaboration has been formed to oversee the ethical development of artificial intelligence, in line with the OECD Principles on AI.

Members of the group, known as GPAI (Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence), will collaborate with experts from industry, civil society and academia to ensure that new applications of AI technology do not infringe human rights or fundamental freedoms.

Participating nations will also explore how AI can support inclusion, diversity and economic growth — seeking to bridge the gap between theory and practice by backing AI research and applied activities.

In the short term, GPAI's work will include investigations on how AI can be leveraged to better respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the longer term, themes such as responsible AI, data governance, the future of work, innovation and commercialisation will be addressed.

The group was founded by the UK government, with countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, The Republic of Korea, Singapore and Slovenia now also on board.

GPAI will be supported by a Secretariat, to be hosted by the OECD in Paris, as well as two Centres of Expertise, in Montréal and Paris, respectively. The centres will provide administrative and research support for the practical projects. They will also plan the annual GPAI Multistakeholder Experts Group Plenary, the first of which will be held in Canada in December 2020.

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