The UK and France have announced a series of new partnerships and funding initiatives aimed at strengthening collaboration on artificial intelligence research and development in the wake of the UK securing associated membership in the major EU research programme Horizon Europe.
French Minister for Higher Education and Research Sylvie Retailleau met with UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Michelle Donelan in London this week, where the two signed a joint declaration committing to enhanced research cooperation and exchange between the two countries.
The declaration includes a pledge of £800,000 in new joint funding to support UK-French research collaborations across Horizon Europe and other programmes. It also establishes a landmark partnership on AI safety between the UK’s AI Safety Institute and France’s National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria).
The new AI collaboration will work to ensure the safe, ethical, and trustworthy development of artificial intelligence technologies. It comes just ahead of France hosting the second AI Safety Summit later this year, building on the agreements made at the first such summit held in the UK last year.
Historic Innovation Partners This latest science pact highlights the two countries’ long history of joint innovation, seen in projects like the Concorde supersonic jet and Channel Tunnel. The UK and France are now looking to leverage this spirit of cooperation to solidify leadership in modern technologies like AI.
The declaration creates a French-British Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, allowing for coordination across priority research areas including hydrogen power, space observation, quantum science, and more.
Real-Life Impacts The additional Horizon Europe funding has the potential for real-world breakthroughs that improve lives, much like past UK-French collaborations that advanced HIV/AIDS vaccine research.
As global leaders in artificial intelligence development individually, the two countries pooling resources in AI safety also holds meaningful promise for setting international norms and standards that balance innovation with ethics.
With France set to host the pivotal AI summit later this year, the UK’s Secretary of State Donelan expressed the UK’s eagerness to engage as a thought leader in this space:
“Research is fundamentally collaborative, and alongside our bespoke deal on Horizon Europe, this deepening partnership with France – along with our joint work on AI safety – is another key step in realizing the UK’s science superpower ambitions.”
French Minister Retailleau echoed this sentiment, saying the joint committee will enable “collaborative work and exchange of ideas and good practices through funding” with an esteemed partner in the UK.
Business Impacts The closer UK-France AI collaboration has ripple effects for businesses in both countries as well. With ethical artificial intelligence an area of intense focus for policymakers and consumers alike, aligned UK-France standards could help set the tone for what responsible AI looks like in global markets.
French and British AI companies may benefit from pooled public and private investments into shared research hubs focused on trustworthy AI development. Startups may also be able to more seamlessly expand between both countries’ markets if regulatory approaches remain compatible.
However, some experts say enhanced UK-Europe coordination in frontier technologies could spur already intense competition with AI leaders in the United States and China. British AI firms being able to tap into Horizon Europe funding and collaborative networks may accelerate their growth in ways that let them challenge the likes of Google, Microsoft, Amazon and more for global AI primacy.
So while transatlantic business partnerships are still likely, the UK strengthening its European AI links could ultimately disrupt the duopoly currently held by the U.S. and China in critical tech sectors.
Hopes for the Future Researchers and tech innovators in both the UK and France hope these reaffirmed commitments to collaboration signal even bigger things to come. While political waves of populism and Brexit may have recently strained diplomatic ties, science and academic channels remained encouragingly resilient.
Horizon Europe association and cooperative agreements like the recent UK-France pacts now inject new momentum on both sides to maximize these long-running research relationships for the betterment of British, French and European citizens as a whole.
With the UK establishing itself as a global science superpower, and France leading on important ethical governance conversations, aligned and amplified visions between these historic partners could make them the twin torchbearers that light the way for others on AI development.
Of course, delivering on these ambitions requires overcoming lingering challenges around issues like immigration restrictions and researcher mobility post-Brexit. But with good faith on both sides, the latest announcements hopefully represent the dawn of a new era of proactive collaboration.
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tags: Artificial Intelligence, Ai, Dhaka Ai, Ai In Bangladesh, Ai In Dhaka, USA
