Interview with Catherine Régis, the New Co-chair of GPAI’s Working Group on Responsible AI
Mila researcher and University of Montreal law professor Catherine Régis was recently named co-chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) working group on responsible AI. As a legal scholar with an interest in AI, Catherine was an excellent choice for the position.
Q. First of all, what is the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence?
A. It’s an international organization established in 2020 dedicated exclusively to AI. It aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.
At first, it was a Canada-France partnership, but today experts from 25 countries are involved. So it’s an ideal vehicle for facilitating international collaboration and promoting trustworthy AI. The GPAI brings academics together with representatives of civil society, governments, industry and international organizations.
Q. What will your role be?
A. The working group on responsible AI is tackling timely issues, such as the fight against climate change, regulating harmful content on social media and developing drugs to treat diseases that affect the world’s economically vulnerable regions. Working in conjunction with professor Raja Chatila of Sorbonne University, my role will be to provide leadership in the group and the GPAI, suggest new responsible AI projects, lead plenary meetings, see to the composition of our sub-groups and publicize progress on our projects.
Q. Why did you get involved in GPAI?
A. I’ve been a member of the working group since it was created and I’m enthusiastic about continuing my involvement. I’m very interested in encouraging responsible innovation and making sure that AI development is inclusive and respects human rights. I’m convinced we can do better, particularly on the issues of governance, diversity and equity.
The coming years will be decisive for AI development. It is vitally important to have spaces like GPAI, where a large number of actors can come together to work on AI projects that serve the common good.
The working group on responsible AI is conducting several projects on timely issues, including:
- Formulating recommendations for accelerating public-domain drug discovery – this project is co-led by Mila’s scientific director, professor Yoshua Bengio;
- A responsible AI strategy for the environment – this group recently presented 50 recommendations for enlisting AI to support the fight against climate change. Mila is an active participant in the group through the contribution of professor David Rolnick;
- Responsible AI for social media governance – this group’s purpose is to equip social networks and governments to better regulate harmful online content.
For more information, see the working group on responsible AI webpage.
To read the press release, click here.
