September 8, 2023 Results of the G7 Digital and Tech Ministers’ Meeting on Hiroshima AI Process

On Thursday, September 7, 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications hosted the G7 Digital and Tech Ministers’ Meeting on the Hiroshima AI Process via video conference. The meeting was attended by G7 countries and regions and related international organizations, and discussions were held toward forming international rules surrounding generative AI. The result was the adoption of the G7 Hiroshima AI Process—G7 Digital & Tech Ministers’ Statement.

1. Date of the meeting

Thursday, September 7, 2023, 20:00-21:00 (Japan Time)

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  Held via video conference

2. Participating countries and international organizations

[G7 countries and regions]
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan (Chair), United Kingdom, United States, and EU

[Invited international organizations]
OECD and GPAI

3. Overview of the meeting

The Hiroshima AI process began in May of this year, building on the results of the G7 Hiroshima Summit, with G7 members and related international organizations participating to discuss the rapid development and dissemination of generative AI that have become important challenges for the international community. This meeting considered discussions held thus far in G7 working groups and aimed at discussing mid-term results. The G7 Hiroshima AI Process—G7 Digital & Tech Ministers’ Statement was adopted as an outcome of this meeting.

Key points of the Ministers’ Statement:

1. Understanding of priority risks, challenges, and opportunities based on the OECD report

• Identification of common G7 priority risks, challenges, and opportunities.

2. Development of international guiding principles and code of conduct for advanced AI systems (including foundational models and generative AI)

• With a shared understanding that developing an international code of conduct for AI developers is an urgent issue for the international community, a basic outline was prepared to target AI developers.
• An international guiding principles document will be prepared for all AI actors by the end of the year.

3. Project-based cooperation, such as a promotion of research on countering disinformation

• Plans are in place to promote project-based initiatives, including cooperation with international organizations, to advance research on cutting-edge technological capabilities to identify AI-generated disinformation.

(Reference: G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué (May 20, 2023), excerpts of relevant sections)
In this respect, we (the G7 leaders) task relevant ministers to establish the Hiroshima AI process, through a G7 working group, in an inclusive manner and in cooperation with the OECD and GPAI, for discussions on generative AI by the end of this year. These discussions could include topics such as governance, safeguarding of intellectual property rights including copyrights, promotion of transparency, response to foreign information manipulation, including disinformation, and responsible utilization of these technologies.