The G7 Tech and Digital Ministerial Meeting in Cernobbio on 15 October 2024

AI is one of the most intriguing and promising fields of innovation and has the potential to dramatically improve our lives. The development, deployment, and use of all AI systems, however, need to respect the democratic values of G7 countries, protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In the framework of the D&T WG, the Italian Presidency developed a Toolkit to enable the ethical development, deployment, and use of AI applications in the public sector. The Toolkit is designed to highlight trends, policy frameworks and multiple AI enablers within G7 members. It aims to share good practices and priority interventions to support the development, deployment, and use of AI in environments that are secure, safe, and trustworthy with a special focus on the implementation within the public sector.

To ensure continuity with the work of the Japanese G7 Presidency in 2023, the Italian Presidency committed to complement the Hiroshima AI Process Comprehensive Policy Framework (HAIP) by developing a Reporting Framework, an integral part of the Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems (HAIP CoC). The Presidency developed a draft Reporting Framework and launched a pilot from July 19 to September 6, 2024, with the support of the OECD and the contribution of 20 organizations across ten countries with a true stakeholder perspective. The results will be presented in a Report that will inform the final Reporting Framework to be finalized in the next months.

A robust digital public infrastructure facilitates an easy, user-friendly and secure access to essential public services, enables resilience and fosters social inclusion. The Presidency has developed a Compendium on Digital Government Systems, in close cooperation with the OECD, sharing examples of how G7 governments are approaching and leveraging digital public infrastructure.

Digital identity plays a crucial role in fostering a secure, inclusive, and efficient digital transformation by enabling individuals and businesses to prove their identity and share verified information through digital means. The rising demand for digital services across the public and private sector, along with concerns about digital exclusion, cybersecurity threats, and the misuse of personal data, underscore the need for well-designed digital identity systems supported by appropriate governance frameworks. While traditional forms of identification and authentication means like physical identity cards, passports and passwords remain significant, they alone are insufficient to address the complexities of today's digital landscape. The goal of the Report is to identify commonalities in digital identity approaches among G7 members to inform future work within the G7 and other international fora.

On 15 October, at the end of the Ministerial Meeting in Cernobbio (Como), the Italian Presidency will propose a Joint Statement to recognise the concrete achievements of the Digital workstream under Italy’s G7 Presidency.

On the 1st of January 2024, Italy assumed, for the seventh time, the Presidency of the G7: the group that brings together Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The G7, in which the European Union also participates, is united by common values and principles and plays an invaluable role in defending freedom and democracy and addressing global challenges. The Italian Presidency will last until 31 December 2024 and will feature a dense programme of technical meetings and institutional events throughout the country. The Summit of G7 Heads of State and Government under the Italian Presidency was held in Borgo Egnazia, in Apulia, on June 13-15, 2024.

The second day of the G7 Industry, Technology and Digital Ministerial Meeting within the Italian Presidency was held on March 15 in Trento. At the end of the sessions, chaired by the Undersecretary of State for Technological Innovation Alessio Butti, G7 members adopted the resulting Ministers’ Declaration.

The Ministers’ Declaration is the result of a collaborative process among G7 countries, the foundations of which were laid during the Japanese G7 Presidency in 2023.

The Declaration is an important step towards advancing the global dialogue on the ethical and responsible use of AI in the public sector, protecting privacy, personal data and equitable automated decision-making. It also identifies Digital Government Systems and the development of human-centred, secure, and efficient digital public services, meant to make life easier for individuals and cut red tape for businesses, as priorities in G7 countries.

It identifies three areas of interest for the digital transition in the public sector:

Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector. AI is one of the most intriguing and promising fields of innovation and has the potential to dramatically improve our lives, provided the respect of democratic values of G7 countries is guaranteed, including the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and accountability, while preventing and mitigating possible misuse and abuse is ensured.

Digital Government. Facilitating access to digital public services contributes to social inclusion and can increase citizens’ trust in public administration. The Declaration also refers to the notion of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), as noted by the 2023 Indian G20 Presidency as an approach that could foster resilience, catalyse sustainable growth, and promote more inclusive and equitable access to digital services.

Support to the Hiroshima Artificial Intelligence Process (HAIP). The Italian Presidency commits to advancing the outcomes of the Hiroshima AI Process to develop, together with stakeholders, appropriate mechanisms for monitoring the voluntary adoption of the “International Code of Conduct for Organisations Developing Advanced AI Systems.”

The Italian Presidency, with the active support of the G7 membership, aims to translate the principles for safe, secure, and trustworthy AI into concrete and actionable policies. To this end, the Presidency will develop a Toolkit for AI in the public sector, to be used as a working tool for the dissemination and ethical use of AI applications in the public sector. Furthermore, the Presidency will produce the Compendium of Digital Public Services with the goal of collecting examples of how G7 governments are approaching and leveraging digital public infrastructure.

During the “Hiroshima AI Process: The Way Ahead” event, within the framework of the G7 Industry, Technology and Digital Ministerial Meeting, the Italian Government signed the Trento Declaration. It underscores the collective recognition of the role of institutions, organisations, developers, implementing stakeholders and users of AI in the development of responsible and inclusive AI. These stakeholders committed to democratising access to technology to ensure that digitalisation stays a global and inclusive opportunity. Italy, Canada and Japan signed the Declaration, along with major tech players Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft and Oracle.