The consortium includes world-leading organizations such as NVIDIA, University of California (UC) Berkeley, Microsoft, Deloitte, HP, DeepMind, Digital Catapult UK and United Nations Satellite Centre. The consortium is also supported by Australia’s National Center for AI, coordinated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Bank of Mauritius and Digital Affairs Malta.
On April 19, 2023, at NVIDIA’s headquarters in California, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, the Commonwealth Secretary, invited technical experts, business leaders, policy makers, academics and civil society representatives to attend. and discussed a joint consortium.
Through this consortium, the Commonwealth Secretariat will work with industry leaders and start-ups around the world to harness innovation to strengthen local infrastructure and supply chains, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and improve power grids. We aim to make the world more environmentally friendly and create new jobs. help the economy grow.
The consortium will provide support in three core areas: Commonwealth AI Framework for Sovereign AI Strategy, Pan-Commonwealth Digital Upskilling for the National Workforce, and Commonwealth AI Cloud for Maximizing AI Benefits. increase.
It aims to implement Article 103 of the 2022 Commonwealth Summit mandate, in which the Secretary “provides citizens with the skills they need to fully benefit from the innovations and opportunities in cyberspace. We reaffirmed our commitment to providing” and “committed to ensuring inclusive access” for all, eliminating discrimination in cyberspace and adopting online safety policies for all users.” .
The Consortium recognizes the values and principles of the Federal Charter, particularly those related to recognizing the needs of small countries, ensuring the importance of youth in the Commonwealth, recognizing the needs of fragile countries, promoting gender equality, and promoting sustainable development. We aim to realize our vision and principles.
It also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG 17 on Partnerships, SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 13 on Climate Action. .
Regarding the consortium, The Federal Secretary General said: “As the technological revolution unfolds, it is critical to establish a sound operational framework to ensure AI applications are developed responsibly and exploited to their full potential.
She added: The Commonwealth will celebrate her 2023 as the Year of Youth. We continue to welcome strategic collaborators to join this consortium. ”
Stella Solar, Director of the Australian National AI Centre, said: “The accelerating AI landscape presents opportunities for all if used responsibly. The Commonwealth has the talent and diversity to lead the development of sustainable and equitable AI outcomes for the world. Through this collaboration, we will extend CSIRO’s world-leading Responsible AI expertise and the National AI Center’s Responsible AI Network to provide a robust and responsible AI governance framework for small federal states.”
Habesh Seegolam, Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, said: “As an innovation-driven organization, the Bank of Mauritius is honored to join this federal initiative aimed at helping member countries to reap the full benefits of AI. At a time of increasing momentum around the world, AI-powered applications can be used to take member countries’ financial systems to new heights while enabling better oversight while improving customer experience and financial inclusion. It can be improved, and overseen by regulators.”
André Xuereb, Malta’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs, added: “Malta is proud to be part of this initiative from the outset. As a small country, we face not only opportunities to introduce innovative new technologies, but also unique challenges. , we look forward to sharing our experiences to help advance the initiative across the smaller states of the Commonwealth.”
Keith Strier, vice president of NVIDIA’s Worldwide AI Initiative, said: “NVIDIA is working with the Federation and its partners to turn 33 countries into AI nations, create ‘starting points’ for AI startups to accelerate emerging economies, and harness the public cloud to bring high-speed computing to generative AI.” and innovation. , Climate AI, Energy AI, Health AI, Agriculture AI and more to the Global South. ”
Professor Solomon Darwin, Director, Center for Corporate Innovation, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and added: This new approach accelerates the creation of scalable and sustainable business models while addressing the needs of underserved populations. ”
Digital Catapult CEO Jeremy Silver said: “The Digital Catapult is pleased to support the Federal Secretariat, NVIDIA, and their partners in this important program. We focus on development.
“We look forward to expanding our collaboration with UK deep tech AI companies to reach out to startups across the Commonwealth and promote more inclusive and responsible algorithm design and AI practices across smaller states. .”
Hugh Milward, General Manager of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft, added: “AI is the defining technology of the coming decades, with the potential to fuel economies, create new industries, and amplify human ingenuity. Microsoft is proud to work with NVIDIA, the Federal Office and others to bring the benefits of AI to more people in more countries across the Commonwealth.”
Deloitte Consulting Principal Christine Ahn added: “Deloitte is honored to work with the Federal Office on its mission to close the AI gap and empower the Commonwealth’s 2.5 billion citizens. We are excited to build a stronger economy and climate resilience, and look forward to providing our leadership and expertise to help countries advance safe and sustainable progress through AI technology. ”
Tom Lue, General Counsel and Head of Governance, DeepMind From tackling climate change to understanding disease, AI is a powerful tool that enables communities to better respond to and prevent some of society’s greatest challenges. We look forward to collaborating and sharing the expertise of DeepMind’s diverse and multidisciplinary team to help small states in the Commonwealth advance responsible AI knowledge, capabilities and deployment. ”
Einar Bjørgo, Director of the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) added: “The United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) is pleased to work with the Federal Secretariat and NVIDIA to strengthen the geospatial capabilities of member states, including the use of AI for natural disasters and climate change applications.”
Jeri Culp, director of data science at HP, said: “HP is working with the Federal Secretariat and its partners to advance data science and AI computing in member countries. Unlocking the full potential of data by providing advanced data science workstations , helping them accelerate their digital transformation efforts.”
Dan Travers, co-founder of Open Climate Fix, said: “We are delighted to be invited to participate in this AI for good project sponsored by the Federal Secretariat. Our experience shows that our open-source solar forecasting platform only reduces energy generation costs. not only by reducing the use of fossil fuels to balance the grid, but also by reducing the use of fossil fuels.We have designed our platform to be globally scalable and because it is open source , allowing local engineers to tailor AI models and data inputs to specific climates, allowing AI to act locally and influence the global climate.”
The consortium was founded at a time when AI is being recognized as a dominant force in technology, fueling transformative developments in industry, business, agriculture, science, medicine, and social innovation.
In particular, generative AI services (AI programs that generate original content) are currently the fastest growing technology, and many countries are increasing their investment in AI technology. Recently, many developed and emerging countries have announced major AI initiatives.
Against this background, the consortium aims to help small nations access the tools they need to thrive in the age of AI, while facilitating comprehensive access and security for all users, ensuring that this process We aim to address the further widening of the digital divide through
This collaborative approach is part of the ongoing work of the Physical Connectivity cluster of the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda to leverage digital infrastructure and bridge the digital divide in small states. Led by The Gambia, the cluster will help Commonwealth countries implement agreed principles on sustainable investment in digital infrastructure.
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