Lords AI Committee to look at lessons from abroad

The Committee will be exploring issues with the witnesses such as what is distinctive about the German and Canadian approach to artificial intelligence (AI), and what role their respective governments are seeking to play in the development and use of AI. The Committee will also be asking whether there is a need for broader international collaboration on AI and the challenges it may present society.

These are among the key issues the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence will be asking two witnesses on Tuesday 5 December 2017.

At 3.30pm the Committee will take evidence from Professor Wolfgang Wahlster, CEO and Scientific Director of the German Research Centre for AI (DFKI).

Professor Wahlster has published more than 200 technical papers and 12 books on user modelling, spoken dialogue systems, mobile and multimodal user interfaces, the semantic web, as well as the internet of things and services. The German Research Centre for AI (DFKI) is Germany's leading AI research centre.

Questions the Committee is likely to ask include:

• Germany is the second largest centre for AI development in Europe after the UK. Does Germany have particular advantages or disadvantages when it comes to capitalising on AI?
• Germany is suffering from a shortage of skilled AI researchers and developers. How is it addressing this problem?
• DFKI has approximately 500 researchers and administrators, and 400 graduate students from more than 60 countries. What, and how effective, is DFKI's role in developing and utilising AI within Germany?
• A new data protection law (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) was passed this year. What implications will this have on the development and application of AI in Germany?
  

At 4.30pm the Committee will take evidence from Dr Alan Bernstein, President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

Dr Bernstein has received a number of awards and honorary degrees for his contributions to science, including the 2008 Gairdner Wightman Award. CIFAR was founded to take on the big challenges facing our world including population health, the Earth's evolution, early brain development, artificial intelligence and the effect of institutions on prosperity.

Questions the Committee is likely to ask include:

• Companies such as Google, DeepMind and Facebook have recently opened major AI research centres in Canada. Why are AI companies interested in basing themselves in Canada?
• Earlier this year the Canadian government announced a major investment of CAD $125 million (approximately £77.5 million) in the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. What problems is this aimed at solving?
• CIFAR has 404 researchers from 16 countries, including 20 from the UK. How is it developing and utilising AI in Canada?
• The Canadian AI field has historically suffered from brain drain to the US. How does Canada's tech industry see itself in relation to the United States?

These evidence sessions will take place at 3.30pm, via videoconference, on Tuesday 5 December 2017 in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords.

In October the Committee published the written evidence it accepted into the inquiry. Click the link below to read this evidence, as well as the transcripts of the Committee's previous oral evidence sessions:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/ai-committee/publications/