Discussions Progress to Strengthen Collaboration with CEIMIA

On September 16 (local time), Dr. TOKUDA Hideyuki, President of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) visited the International Center of Expertise in Montreal on Artificial Intelligence (CEIMIA) in Montreal, Canada. CEIMIA was established in July 2020 as one of the Expert Support Centers (ESCs) for the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI). The visit aimed to exchange information and strengthen cooperation between the two centers, serving as a reference for the future activities of the GPAI Tokyo Expert Support Center (Tokyo ESC). Discussions were held with Ms. Sophie Fallaha, Executive Director of CEIMIA.

President Tokuda introduced examples of NICT’s research and development in areas such as generative AI and multilingual communication technologies capable of AI simultaneous interpretation, and gave an overview of the initiatives undertaken by the Tokyo ESC, including the SAFE project. Executive Director Fallaha introduced the projects currently supported by CEIMIA for GPAI’s “Responsible AI” and “Data Governance” Working Groups.

Additionally, Executive Director Fallaha explained that as a result of CEIMIA’s ongoing activities, which aim to support the governments’ societal implementation while reflecting the opinions of industry and academic stakeholders, the Montreal center has supported the formation a pool of 240 AI experts, developed 34 practical tools, and standardized processes for promoting international collaboration projects initiated through the Innovation Workshop – an annual large-scale work session led by the ESCs with experts and government representative that aims to co-design future initiatives for GPAI’s roadmaps that tackle governments priorities to drive responsible AI adoption.

Finally, it was noted that there is an increasing need to strengthen cooperation between the GPAI ESCs in Japan, Canada, and France to ensure a smooth transition to and maintain the momentum of “GPAI 2.0,” based on the integrated partnership between GPAI and OECD. Additionally, it was agreed to continue regular consultations, targeting the GPAI Summit in Belgrade (December 2024) and the Innovation Workshop scheduled to be held in Tokyo (Spring 2025).