G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué (2023)
Excerpt (par. 38)
We recognize that, while rapid technological change has been strengthening societies and economies, the international governance of new digital technologies has not necessarily kept pace. As the pace of technological evolution accelerates, we affirm the importance to address common governance challenges and to identify potential gaps and fragmentation in global technology governance. In areas such as AI, immersive technologies such as the metaverses and quantum information science and technology and other emerging technologies, the governance of the digital economy should continue to be updated in line with our shared democratic values. These include fairness, accountability, transparency, safety, protection from online harassment, hate and abuse and respect for privacy and human rights, fundamental freedoms and the protection of personal data. We will work with technology companies and other relevant stakeholders to drive the responsible innovation and implementation of technologies, ensuring that safety and security is prioritized, and that platforms are tackling the threats of child sexual exploitation and abuse on their platforms, and upholding the children's rights to safety and privacy online. We continue to discuss ways to advance technology for democracy and to cooperate on new and emerging technologies and their social implementation, and look forward to an inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue on digital issues, including on Internet Governance, through relevant fora, including the OECD Global Forum on Technology. We commit to further advancing multi-stakeholder approaches to the development of standards for AI, respectful of legally binding frameworks, and recognize the importance of procedures that advance transparency, openness, fair processes, impartiality, privacy and inclusiveness to promote responsible AI. We stress the importance of international discussions on AI governance and interoperability between AI governance frameworks, while we recognize that approaches and policy instruments to achieve the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary across G7 members. We support the development of tools for trustworthy AI through multi-stakeholder international organizations, and encourage the development and adoption of international technical standards in standards development organizations through multi-stakeholder processes. We recognize the need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI, which is increasingly prominent across countries and sectors, and encourage international organizations such as the OECD to consider analysis on the impact of policy developments and Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) to conduct practical projects. In this respect, we task relevant ministers to establish the Hiroshima AI process, through a G7 working group, in an inclusive manner and in cooperation with the OECD and GPAI, for discussions on generative AI by the end of this year. These discussions could include topics such as governance, safeguard of intellectual property rights including copy rights, promotion of transparency, response to foreign information manipulation, including disinformation, and responsible utilization of these technologies. We welcome the Action Plan for promoting global interoperability between tools for trustworthy AI from the Digital and Tech Ministers' Meeting. We recognize the potential of immersive technologies, and virtual worlds, such as metaverses to provide innovative opportunities, in all industrial and societal sectors, as well as to promote sustainability. For this purpose, governance, public safety, and human rights challenges should be addressed at the global level. We task our relevant Ministers to consider collective approaches in this area, including in terms of interoperability, portability and standards, with the support of the OECD. We express our interest in possible joint cooperation in research and development on computing technologies. We also task our relevant Ministers to consider ways to further promote digital trade.
The Japan Times, G7 digital ministers agree to pursue responsible AI as ChatGPT booms, April 30, 2023
With new artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT taking the world by storm, digital and technology ministers from Group of Seven nations on Sunday called for speeding up discussions on the responsible use and governance of the new tech. . . .
As more tech firms develop generative AI products, governance over the tech became one of the main topics at the G7 meeting, with nearly all the members voicing a need for more talks on the issue.
Group of Seven ministers will adopt an artificial intelligence action plan for the first time when they meet in Japan this month to promote responsible use of the fast-expanding AI sector. . . . In addition to working toward responsible development of AI technology, the draft also cites the risk of it being abused to infringe on human rights through more intense monitoring of people’s activities. The draft states that the G-7 is opposed to using AI to threaten democratic values and human rights. . . . The draft touches upon the rapid spread of ChatGPT and other generative AI technology producing both benefits and risks that extend beyond national boundaries and industrial sectors.
The C7 Communiqué will also be handed over to G7 representatives at the C7 Summit, to be held on 13-14 April, in Tokyo and online.
For your participation in the C7 Summit, please visit https://civil7.org/news/467/
The Communiqué: here
Press release (in Japanese): here
In May 2023, Japan will host the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima. Leaders of the world's largest advanced market democracies will meet to discuss the most pressing global concerns, including a range of critical economic and trade issues.
In AI and Democratic Values, CAIDP reported that the G7 is also the incubator for significant work on AI policy. In advance of the 2016 G7 summit in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged his government to develop policies for AI that could provide the basis for a global standard. The standards that he proposed became the OECD AI Principles, the first global framework for AI policy. PrIme Minister Abe also promoted Data Free Flows with Trust, an influential policy initiative that underscored the importance of data protection for transborder data flows.
April 13-14, 2023 - C7 Summit, in Tokyo and online.
For your participation in the C7 Summit, please visit https://civil7.org/news/467/
As one of the official engagement groups of G7, Civil7 (C7) has been working for the past several months to bring positive changes on global issues by concrete policy recommendations in six different working groups with 700 representatives from more than 70 countries.
The C7 Summit on 13-14 April 2023 will be an important opportunity to discuss challenges that the G7 Leaders face, and ways to address them. Registration is now open. We look forward to your participation.
April 29-30, 2023 - G7 Digital and Tech Ministers' Meeting in Takasaki, Gunma
Venue: Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture
The Civil Society 7 (C7) Group is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G7 and represents positions from the international civil society. It provides a platform through which representatives from non-governmental organisations worldwide can network in order to develop policy recommendations and enter into a dialogue with the G7.
[CAIDP has joined the working group on open and resilient societies.]
Science and Digitalization for A Better Future
This task force focuses on science policy bottlenecks that are hindering the potential for scientific advances and digitalization to enhance human capital development, long term economic productivity, and system change.
It seeks to highlight the importance of approaching science and digitalization as international public goods. The task force’s agenda includes cross-border science and innovation policies, multilateral science financing architecture, digital infrastructure investment, digital security, connectivity and interoperability, and the development of frontier technology as a public good in fields such as biotechnology, spatial exploration, and polar research.
Suggested policy brief topics include: (i) the role of science, technology, and innovation in sustainable development and resilience across the G7 and Group of 20 (G20); (ii) cybersecurity and data privacy in a digitally connected world, digital education, and IT literacy and equality; (iii) the potential for science and inclusive methods and transformative innovation to generate sustainable food, water, and land systems at scale; (iv) and intellectual property rights regimes, their assets, and limitations.
G7 Data Protection Authorities: Promoting Privacy Internationally
19 September 2022
The data protection authorities of the G7 countries met from 6 to 8 September 2022 in Bonn under the chairmanship of the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Roundtable of G7 Data Protection and Privacy Authorities - Communique (8 Sept 2022)
[More from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada]
G7 Privacy Advocates and Privacy Authorities want to advance DFFT
The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI), Professor Ulrich Kelber, is satisfied with the outcome of this year’s G7 Roundtable of the data protection and privacy authorities: We have agreed to work together on the basis for a free and trusting flow of data, focusing on the protection of citizens’ personal data. For this path of the “Data Free Flow with Trust” or DFFT, we will advertise at our respective governments.
[More]
G7 data protection and privacy authorities’ meeting: communiqué (9 Sept 2021)
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) brought together data protection and privacy authorities from G7 countries, as well as guests from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), for a discussion this week on shared emerging challenges that need closer international collaboration.
Chaired by Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, the meeting took place virtually on 7-8 September where G7 authorities agreed on a communiqué that sets out their commitment to cooperate in specific areas.
[More]
G7 Data Protection and Privacy Authorities Communique (Sept. 2021)
Human Rights-based Technology
Surveillance Tech, Privacy and Other Human Rights
Protection of Children and Youth in the Digital Space
Civil7, Communiqué 2023, Design and Implement Sustainable Policies for Peace, Prosperity, and Transparency (prepared for the 2023 G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan)
Beginning with the work of Prime Minister Abe, the G7 has encouraged the development of AI policies that support fundamental rights, democratic institutions, and the rule of law. DFFT was intended to ensure the protection of personal privacy for transborder data flows. It is important to carry forward Abe’s vision when the G7 meets this year in Japan.
CAIDP recommends that:
The CAIDP has a well-established interest in the work of the G7 on digital policies. The G7 is the incubator for significant work on AI policy. In our 2021 report on Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values, we identified the G7’s work as critical for AI policy development.
There is a growing understanding that ‘red lines’ are necessary to safeguard fundamental rights. Few AI applications are more controversial than the use of AI for surveillance in public spaces. The use of facial recognition on a general population has raised widespread controversy with many NGOs stating it should be prohibited. Other controversial AI applications include the scoring of citizens, criminal sentencing, administrative service decisions, and hiring assessments.
CAIDP endorses the G7’s strong statement against algorithmic bias. CAIDP also urges the G7 to identify key principles to minimize bias and risks in algorithmic decision- making systems.
CAIDP urges the G7 leaders to prioritize more representation of women and other underrepresented sections of society in AI development.
CAIDP Endorses the 2021 Recommendations of the G7 Data Protection and Privacy Authorities
CAIDP Notes the Need of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council to Move Forward Concrete Actions on AI Policy
CAIDP urges the G-7 to move forward the commitments set out in the 2021 Inaugural Joint Statement of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council regarding Artificial Intelligence Policy (Annex III) and specifically the need to combat algorithmic bias.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum
consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The members constitute the wealthiest liberal democracies. The group is officially organized around shared values of pluralism and representative government. The G7 is also the incubator for significant work on AI policy.
In advance of the 2016 G7 summit in Japan, then Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe urged his government to develop policies for AI that could provide the basis for a global standard.91 At the subsequent meeting of G7 ICT ministers, Japan’s Communications Minister proposed international rules that would make “AI networks controllable by human beings and respect for human dignity and privacy.”92 She introduced eight basic principles Japans proposed for AI. These principles are very similar to those later adopted by the OECD and then the G20.
Prior to the 2018 G7 summit, France and Canada announced a joint
undertaking on Artificial Intelligence that led to the creation of the Global Partnership on AI.93 According to the Mission Statement of the two countries, the goal “will be to support and guide the responsible adoption of AI that is human-centric and grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity,
innovation and economic growth.”94
In advance of the 2019 G7 summit, hosted by France, leaders of scientific societies set out a declaration on Artificial Intelligence andSociety in which they stated, “Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the technologies that is transforming our society and many aspects of our daily lives. AI has already provided many positive benefits and may be a source of considerable economic prosperity. It also gives rise to questions about employment, confidentiality of data, privacy, infringement of ethical values
and trust in results.”95
At the 2021 G7 summit hosted by the UK, the G7 Leaders committed to work together for a “values-driven digital ecosystem for the common good that enhances prosperity in a way that is sustainable, inclusive, transparent and human-centric.”96 They called for a “human centric approach to artificial intelligence,” building on the work of the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) advanced by the Canadian and French G7 Presidencies in 2018 and 2019.
The G7 Leaders committed to work together for a “values-driven digital ecosystem for the common good that enhances prosperity in a way that is sustainable, inclusive, transparent and human-centric.” They called for a “human centric approach to artificial intelligence,” building on the work of the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) advanced by the Canadian and French G7 Presidencies in 2018 and 2019, and looking forward to the GPAI Summit in Paris in November 2021.
At the 2021 G7 privacy officials also issued a statement on Data
Free Flows with Trust.97 Regarding artificial intelligence, the officials said, “human dignity, must be central to AI design; AI must be transparent, comprehensible, and explainable; and the data protection principles of purpose limitation and data minimization must apply to AI.” They further said that “’red lines’ are needed for AI systems that are not compatible with our values and fundamental rights.”
G7 Digital Ministers Misconstrue Data Free Flows with Trust, Back Off 2021 G7 Commitments, CAIDP Update 3.11 (May 18, 2022)
G7 Privacy Officials Issue Statement on Data Free Flow with Trust, CAIDP Update 2.32 (Sept. 9, 2021)
