The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) was recently invited to speak at the 2025 Science Summit, held alongside the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA80). Co-hosting with our partners at the European Union’s AI Data and Robotics Association (ADRA), the virtual session titled “Towards a Global AI Compact: Sovereignty, Sustainability, and Economic Growth” convened keynote speakers and panelists from Canada and Europe to explore the intersections of AI sovereignty, economic development, and global collaboration. Our collaboration on these topics comes at the time of Canada’s engagement during UNGA80, which is focused on championing a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient global economy.
The session consisted of keynotes from Namir Anani, President & CEO of ICTC, and Philippe Piatkiewicz, Secretary General of ADRA, along with a panel that included Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, Philippe Dufresne, ADRA President Emanuela Girardi, and the Vector Institute’s Chief Operations and Finance Officer, Alan Veerman.
Building on ICTC and ADRA’s recent joint report, AI Sovereignty and Economic Growth: Strengthening Transatlantic Leadership Between the EU and Canada, the discussion highlighted key themes related to how cross-border collaboration on AI development and adoption can drive economic growth while safeguarding sovereignty, trust, and fundamental values:
1. Prioritizing human interaction, cultural sensitivities, and language diversity in the design of AI systems is key to inclusive development. This includes ensuring democratized access to AI technologies and aligning their development with a unified set of global societal values and needs.
2. Global cooperation is essential for advancing trustworthy AI. This includes harmonizing standards, enabling cross-border data flows, and creating interoperable frameworks that support innovation while safeguarding privacy rights.
"Privacy is a fundamental right. It supports public interest and strong economies, and protecting it in a demonstrable way supports the trust that citizens need to have in their institutions.”- Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
3. Striking a balance between fostering rapid AI innovation and implementing agile, principles-based governance. This includes regulatory sandboxes, codes of practice, and adaptive legal frameworks that can evolve with technology.
4. Public investments in compute power, data access, and national workforce development are foundational infrastructure to unlock the value of AI. Building industry ecosystems around these resources is additionally critical to enabling productivity gains, research breakthroughs, and equitable participation in the AI economy.
"When we invented literacy, governments built schools. When we invented medicine, governments built hospitals. When we invented cars, governments built highways. Now, in the age of AI, governments must think about AI infrastructure the same way.” - Alan Veerman, Chief Operations and Financial Officer at the Vector Institute
5. AI’s economic potential hinges on reskilling and upskilling the current workforce. Creating educational and training pathways to ensure people can adapt, transition, and thrive is essential to a competitive workforce in an AI-driven future.
Explore more of the conversation by watching the full recording:
