U.S. Announces AI R&D Agreement with UK

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Trump Administration announced today that the United States and the United Kingdom signed a Declaration on Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence Research and Development intended “to drive technological breakthroughs, promote researcher collaboration and advance the development of trustworthy AI.”

The announcement is an outcome of the U.S.–UK Special Relationship Economic Working Group, established following a meeting between President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year.

“America and our allies must lead the world in shaping the development of cutting edge AI technologies and protecting against authoritarianism and repression,” said Michael Kratsios, U.S. Chief Technology Officer. “We are proud to join our special partner and ally, the United Kingdom, to advance AI innovation for the well-being of our citizens, in line with shared democratic values.”

The cooperation agreement includes:

  • Recommending priorities for future cooperation in R&D areas where each partner shares a strong common interest and brings complementary challenges, regulatory or cultural considerations, or expertise.
  • Coordinating the planning and programming of relevant research activities, including promoting researcher and student collaborations and public-private partnerships.
  • Promoting R&D in AI focusing on fundamental advances and challenging technical issues such as explainability and fairness.

The Administration said the agreement will build “upon previous action by the United States to engage with likeminded international partners to accelerate the development of trustworthy AI innovation.”

Earlier this year, the U.S., G7 Nations, and other allies launched the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence “to enhance multi-stakeholder cooperation in the advancement of AI that reflects democratic values,” according to the White House. Also, in 2019, the U.S. worked with the 37 member countries of Organization for Economic Development (OECD) to establish the first international AI principles signed onto by democratic nations around the world.