Franco-British partnerships on Science and Society
Scientific innovation and discovery are at the forefront of international cooperation to address global challenges and advance the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Artificial Intelligence, renewable energy, climate science, advancements in healthcare and space exploration will dominate future scientific discussions and collaboration between France and the UK.
The Franco-British Council regularly brings together government, experts, industry, academics and civil society to discuss and promote cooperation between the two countries.
In December 2023, the Franco-British Council agreed to work in partnership with the Franco-British Data Society
Conference on the issue of “Artificial Intelligence and information warfare”
On 10th July 2024, the Franco-British Council organised a conference on “Artificial Intelligence and Information Warfare” at University College London in partnership with Inria and the Franco-British Data Society.
Michael Butcher, Chair of the Franco-British Data Society, welcomed everyone to the Conference and Hervé Mariton, Chair of the Conseil franco-britannique in France introduced the topic.
Dr Benjamin Guedj, Director at Inria – UCL joint AI Lab (Inria London), Professor of Machine Learning and Foundational AI at University College London, Turing Fellow, The Alan Turing Institute, Franco-British Young Leader and Trustee of the Franco-British Council, spoke on “The state of AI in 2024”.
David Colon, researcher at the Sciences Po History Centre / teacher of the history of communication, media and propaganda, author of “La guerre de l’information: Les États à la conquête de nos cerveaux” gave a keynote speech.
Dr Benjamin Guedj, Turing Fellow, The Alan Turing Institute, and Garima Gaur, CEDAR team at Inria France discussed science in action.
Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting at BBC, Laurent Guimier, Deputy Director General for Information at CMA Media and Florent Latrive, Deputy Director of Information, in charge of digital strategy, Radio France discussed how the media confronts disinformation.
Debbie Widjaja, Chief Product Officer of Zero Gravity, ex Program Manager of Hate Speech and Misinformation at Meta, and Simon Staffell, Director of Corporate Affairs, Microsoft UK, gave a view from the industry perspective on checks and balances.
Hervé Letoqueux, Chief operating officer, Viginum, gave the government perspective in France.
Maître Thaima Samman, from Samman Law gave her legal perspective.