Charlevoix common vision for the future of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to introduce new sources of economic growth, bring significant benefits to our societies and help address some of our most pressing challenges including safeguarding human rights, achieving gender equality, feeding a growing global population, improving the health of our citizens, empowering the elderly and citizens with disabilities, increasing participation in the workforce, countering harmful bias and supporting inclusive societies. Realizing the broad potential of AI technologies will require thoughtful investments in entrepreneurship, research, education and the labour market to respond to the associated societal impacts, to adapt to changes in demand for skills, and to promote relevant skills and knowledge for the jobs of the future.

AI that fosters economic growth, societal trust, gender equality and inclusion depends on a predictable and stable policy environment that promotes innovation, as recognized by the 2018 G7 Montreal Ministerial Statement on Artificial Intelligence, and the multi-stakeholder, human-centric vision outlined in the 2017 G7 ICT and Industry Ministers’ Torino Declaration.

We, the Leaders of the G7, commit to:

1. Endeavour to promote human-centric AI and commercial adoption of AI, and continue to advance appropriate technical, ethical and technologically neutral approaches by: safeguarding privacy including through the development of appropriate legal regimes; investing in cybersecurity, the appropriate enforcement of applicable privacy legislation and communication of enforcement decisions; informing individuals about existing national bodies of law, including in relation to how their personal data may be used by AI systems; promoting research and development by industry in safety, assurance, data quality, and data security; and exploring the use of other transformative technologies to protect personal privacy and transparency.
2. Promote investment in research and development in AI that generates public trust in new technologies, and encourage industry to invest in developing and deploying AI that supports economic growth and women’s economic empowerment while addressing issues related to accountability, assurance, liability, security, safety, gender and other biases and potential misuse.
3. Support lifelong learning, education, training and reskilling, and exchange information on workforce development for AI skills, including apprenticeships, computer science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, especially for women, girls and those at risk of being left behind.
4. Support and involve women, underrepresented populations and marginalized individuals as creators, stakeholders, leaders and decision-makers at all stages of the development and implementation of AI applications.
5. Facilitate multistakeholder dialogue on how to advance AI innovation to increase trust and adoption and to inform future policy discussions.
6. Support efforts to promote trust in the development and adoption of AI systems with particular attention to countering harmful stereotypes and fostering gender equality. Foster initiatives that promote safety and transparency, and provide guidance on human intervention in AI decision-making processes.
7. Promote the use of AI applications by companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises and companies from non-tech sectors.
8. Promote active labour market policies, workforce development and reskilling programs to develop the skills needed for new jobs and for those at risk of being left out, including policies specifically targeting the needs of women and underrepresented populations in order to increase labour participation rates for those groups.
9. Encourage investment in AI technology and innovation to create new opportunities for all people, especially to give greater support and options for unpaid caregivers, the majority of whom today are women.
10. Encourage initiatives, including those led by industry, to improve digital security in AI and developing technologies, such as the Internet of Things and cloud services, as well as through the development of voluntary codes of conduct, standards or guidelines and the sharing of best practices.
11. Ensure AI design and implementation respect and promote applicable frameworks for privacy and personal data protection.
12. Support an open and fair market environment including the free flow of information, while respecting applicable frameworks for privacy and data protection for AI innovation by addressing discriminatory trade practices, such as forced technology transfer, unjustified data localization requirements and source code disclosure, and recognizing the need for effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.