It will be up to the Conseil de l’innovation du Québec, led by its director general Luc Sirois, to “ set the table ” in the coming months for a legislative framework for artificial intelligence, the Minister of the Economy announced this Wednesday morning. , Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the offices of Mila — Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute. The institution founded in 1993 by Yoshua Bengio, which in 2018 became an independent organization of the University of Montreal, will also see the renewal of financial support from Quebec, up to 7 million per year by 2025 on a budget annual of some 35 million.
“The development of responsible AI is essential to ensure its acceptability and integration in business,” he said. Through our funding at Mila, we support applied research initiatives that allow Quebec to remain a leader in this field. »
With around 100 members in 2018, Mila today brings together some 1,100 researchers, 120 employees and around 100 partners.
“We are very well positioned as a true world leader in this area, we have much to be proud of,” said Fitzgibbon. The challenge now is to bring the best in artificial intelligence to our companies and to ensure responsible development. »
Nearly five months after the public launch of the chatbot Chat GPT, two weeks after the publication of a petition today bringing together some 20,000 experts including Mr. Bengio asking for a six-month break in research, the ethics of the AI was at the heart of the press conference called on Wednesday. Mr. Fitzgibbon held morning meetings presented as “ non-partisan ” with members of the opposition as well as experts. On Twitter, he announced around 10 a.m. that he had entrusted the Conseil de l’innovation du Québec with the task of establishing the guidelines for a “legislative and regulatory” framework for AI, in particular with the organization of public forums.
In particular, Minister Fitzgibbon wants us to look at the protection of sensitive data and the impacts of AI on employment. The process will take at least several months, he estimated. “Clearly, I think there will ultimately be legislation […] The idea is not to stop, but to go faster with a framework. »