Science and Innovation Network Canada brought leaders from various organizations to the United Kingdom to learn more about London’s policy development strategy in investing in artificial intelligence and exascale computing. The delegation also aimed to deepen collaboration with the United Kingdom after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a $1.5 billion investment to form the nation’s AI Compute Access Fund and the Canadian AI sovereign compute strategy.
The visiting group included senior officials from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Communications Security Establishment and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
“Having seen what is possible and underway in the U.K., I would venture to say that it has motivated a reevaluation of what we believe could be possible, not only in Canada, but also in what partnerships and cooperation might be sparked between Canada and the UK in the realm of AI, compute infrastructure and AI safety,” said one of the participants.
The British High Commission in Ottawa said the Canadian delegation’s U.K. visit strengthens cooperation between the two nations on advancing AI and moves toward the ultimate goal of developing a world-class supercomputing infrastructure.
Ottawa and London signed a memorandum of understanding in late January, creating a science and innovation network in which experts from both countries would lead AI-focused research and development initiatives.