United Kingdom: France and the UK have announced new funding to enhance research collaboration and establish a new partnership for greater global artificial intelligence (AI) security.
Sylvie Retailleau, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, will visit London for her first face-to-face meeting with Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State since the UK’s association with Horizon Europe.
The two ministers aim to enrich the current collaboration between British and French scientists, researchers, and businesses. This partnership has resulted in remarkable achievements in the past, such as Concorde, which made commercial supersonic flight a reality, and the Channel Tunnel, an engineering marvel. To further strengthen the research ties between the UK and France, the ministers will sign a joint declaration.
The UK and France have committed to providing £800,000 in new funding towards joint research efforts. This funding will support ongoing research initiatives such as Horizon Europe, and will enable more joint bids for grants to be made to support cutting-edge research and development. The ultimate goal of this collaborative effort is to spearhead research that can improve the lives of people globally. In the past, British and French experts worked together under Horizon’s predecessor to bring potential HIV-AIDS vaccines to the clinical trial stage.
The UK AI Safety Institute and France’s INRIA (National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology) will also announce the formation of a new partnership to jointly support the safe and responsible development of AI technology. The partnership was established ahead of France hosting the Personal AI Security Summit later this year. The summit builds on the historic agreement on frontier AI testing reached between world leaders and businesses at the UK’s world-first summit last year.
The Joint Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation between France and Britain is meeting for the first time. This committee presents a unique opportunity to bring together key influencers from research sectors in both countries. They will work on advantageous opportunities for R&D teamwork across the Channel, including low-carbon hydrogen, space observation, AI, and research security. The committee will meet every two years to boost UK-France scientific cooperation in priority fields, such as emerging technologies like AI and quantum.
Michelle Donelan, the UK State Secretary stated that, “The links between the UK and France’s brightest minds are deep and longstanding, from breakthroughs in aerospace to tackling climate change. It is only right that we support our innovators, to unleash the power of their ideas to create jobs and grow businesses in concert with our closest neighbour on the continent. Research is fundamentally collaborative, and alongside our bespoke deal on Horizon Europe, this deepening partnership with France along with our joint work on AI safety, is another key step in realising the UK’s science superpower ambitions.”
French Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, commented that, “This joint committee is a perfect illustration of the international component of research, from identifying key priorities such as Hydrogen, AI, Space and Research Security, to enabling collaborative work and exchange of ideas and good practices through funding. Doing so with a trusted partner as the UK, who just associated to Horizon Europe, is a great opportunity to strengthen France’s science capabilities abroad, and participate in Europe’s strategic autonomy openness.”
The joint announcement by the two countries reinforces the campaign to promote research collaboration through Horizon Europe. The campaign aims to provide opportunities for European researchers to collaborate with tens of thousands of UK companies eligible for Horizon Europe grants. In addition, the UK participates in the Copernicus component of the EU space programme, which provides opportunities for researchers and the public in the field of Earth observation.
In addition to AI security, the agreement contemplates joint activities in space, hydrogen and research on security. France joins an expanding global network of AI security testing collaborators as a result of collaboration between the UK and French AI institutes. The UK has previously entered into similar partnerships with the AI Safety Institute in the US and the Singapore government.
The UK’s global ambitions to deepen collaboration with leading lights in science across the globe are demonstrated by bilateral agreements and the Horizon Association. The government is committed to providing the brightest British minds with the broadest range of opportunities to unlock breakthroughs with colleagues all over the world.
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