In 1988, the US and other nations formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to study and respond to consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. In Montreal Thursday, the governments of France and Canada said they will establish a similar group to study and respond to the global changes being wrought by artificial intelligence technology. They say the panel is needed to rein in unethical uses of AI, and minimize the risk of economic disruption such as job losses caused by automation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans for the International Panel on Artificial Intelligence with the French minister for digital affairs, Mounir Mahjoubi. Trudeau has launched several programs to advance Canadian investment in AI in recent years, and said he also wants to lead in considering the technology's potential downsides.

In a sweeping bid to restore his country's image and elevate its standing in the global business community, French president Emmanuel Macron has hosted a string of international summits since taking office on issues such as tech and entrepreneurship to lure foreign investors with an overriding message: France is back. But to fuel the country's economic upswing, Macron's administration is also looking inward. Last month, it laid out a comprehensive blueprint authored by Fields Medal recipient Cedric Villani called "For a Meaningful Artificial Intelligence," which outlined a national strategy to become a leader in the field, overhaul digital innovation around AI and make sure labor-market and technological disruptions support inclusivity and diversity. "AI is not just a sector; it will shape an unprecedented transformation of society and the economy, and we're very proud to be ushering in a new AI era for France" Mounir Mahjoubi, France's secretary of state for digital affairs, told Adweek. "France is regarded as a leader in AI but needs to mobilize substantially more resources to bring in scientists, tech firms and dedicated research centers from the largest corporations," he said.