THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF AI:

During 2023, Google DeepMind partnered with civil society organisations to co-design and deliver nine roundtables that explored the opportunities and risks presented by the deployment of AI in key sectors. Each roundtable resulted in a written report.

Participants in the roundtables included representatives from civil society, academia, advocacy groups, governments, startups and the private sector. Some roundtables took place in person, while others were virtual or hybrid, with participants drawn from all over the world. Themes ranged from th broad to the specific, encompassing national security, disability and the future of work, education and more. 

We’re far from alone in convening these kinds of multi-stakeholder discussions.  Rapid advances in AI-powered technologies have sharpened the focus of policymakers, civil society and the public at large on AI and its societal impacts. As an industry organisation working at the leading edge of AI research, Google DeepMind has a responsibility to demystify AI and provide insights in forums for policy discovery that include a broad range of voices. These insights must be reflective of the diversity of communities and sectors affected by AI and inclusive of the expertise of civil society, industry and academia. We’re part of a larger ecosystem and our work – both the technical development of AI systems and our contribution to AI policy debates – must be reflective of and responsive to the rest of the ecosystem and the world beyond it.

This summary aims to surface and share the most pertinent questions, insights and perspectives that emerged from these roundtables, in the hope that they will serve policymakers’ shaping of AI regulation. We also share what we learned through working with civil society and social impact organisations to convene these discussions and our plans to develop the programme further.