Canada and the United Kingdom collaborate on responsible artificial intelligence
Understanding challenges around AI is key to successful technology deployment
Canada is a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)—the single-largest transformative technology in the world. Fostering Canada’s advantage in digital technologies, including AI, is one of the pillars of the Government of Canada’s economic growth strategy. To develop and deploy this technology in a responsible way that benefits all Canadians, research on understanding how the technology will impact our society is needed, alongside investments in the technology itself.
Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque, British High Commissioner to Canada, announced investments of approximately C$5 million and £5 million over three years, to fund 10 interdisciplinary, international AI research teams under the Canada-UK Artificial Intelligence Initiative.
These projects, co-led by principal investigators from both countries, will advance understanding of important AI challenges, such as countering abusive online language, improving labour market equality, informing the development of AI transportation systems, helping neurosurgeons perform surgery, and creating technology to better detect and monitor global disease outbreaks.
The projects announced today will encourage new, multidisciplinary and international partnerships in responsible AI research, and promote enhanced infrastructure and training for researchers in Canada and the UK.