The conference of G7 Innovation Ministers is beginning in Montreal today under the Canadian Presidency. Germany will be represented by Matthias Machnig, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The main focus of the conference will be on digitalisation and its impact on the economy and society. The G7 wish to work more closely together in the field of artificial intelligence in particular.

Said State Secretary Machnig: “All the G7 partners are facing similar challenges in the field of digitalisation. Our aim is to stimulate innovations in order to maintain our economies’ competitive edge in the long term, and to grasp the opportunities offered by digitalisation for growth and prosperity. Here, artificial intelligence plays a crucial role, and we should work on it together. It is vital to discuss both the possibilities and the limitations of AI, and to keep all groups in society on board. In a broad debate, we will discuss ethical questions, as well as data protection and data security. We want to step up our research into artificial intelligence, and to share good examples.”

By holding the conference of Innovation Ministers, Canada is continuing the dialogue on current issues of digital policy and is building on the work already done by Italy and Japan. The conference will close on Wednesday (28 March 2018) with a joint session of the Innovation and Labour Ministers discussing “Our approach to prepare for jobs of the future”.

The G7 consists of the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada and the European Union.