Paris, XX, April 12, 2022

The collective* of the Confiance.ai programme is announcing the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. The aim of this partnership is to make the processes of standard IEEE 7000 (relative to the integration of ethical concerns into traditional systems engineering and design) an integral part of the best practices developed by Confiance.ai, and to submit them for standardisation by the CEN-CENELEC (JTC21). The 2 partners bring complementary approaches to the collaboration, as the IEEE offers the frame of reference and Confiance.ai the technological dimension.

In concrete terms, this collaboration will unfold in two phases:

Over the first phase, the Confiance.ai collective will test standard IEEE 7000 on one of its use cases, focusing on the integration of ethical concerns throughout the process of system engineering. They will also carry out a gap analysis between the expectations of Confiance.ai and the IEEE standards relating to ethical concerns, namely IEEE 7000. Subsequently, the partners will study the feasibility of a pilot IEEE ethical certification project, with one or several members of the Confiance.ai collective. Following these steps, the two partners will draw up a detailed collaborative plan, which will be executed in the second phase of the partnership.

The MoU then covers a stage of cooperation on European certification with the CEN-CENELEC (JTC21) in order for the best practices developed by Confiance.ai, in the first phase, to be adopted into standardisation. The collective and the IEEE with then jointly develop a catalogue of risks and a map of features connected to the notion of trust.

“The field of an AI of trust raises critical issues in terms of standardisation and ethics. We are glad to sign this partnership with the IEEE and, thus, to respond to these challenges. Among the excellent results of Confiance.ai is the DebiAI platform, which will contribute to the approach towards an ethical AI” says Paul Labrogère, CEO of SystemX, pilot Institute for Technological Research (IRT) of the Confiance.ai programme, and signatory of the partnership with the IEEE.

“The need for trustworthy AI systems ranks very high among all AI principles which have emerged over the past few years. What make the difference are the concrete measures and actions used to implement

www.confiance.ai contact@irt-systemx.fr

this high-level principle, placing the practice at the heart of innovation policies. This is the aim of the cooperation between Confiance.AI and the IEEE. The innovation landscape both in France and Europe will benefit greatly from the experience gained through our collaboration in this strategic area. It will also give rise to a model which, hopefully, will inspire a global movement”, adds Dr. Ing. Konstantinos Karachalios, Managing Director of the IEEE SA.

This partnership with an international standards organisation is the second signed by the Confiance.ai collective. It follows the signature, in January, of an MoU with EUROCAE, The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment. Confiance.ai intends to build on the momentum in this direction by forging partnerships with reference organisations in the field of the autonomous vehicle, energy, defence, etc.

*Air Liquide, Airbus, Atos, CEA, Inria, Naval Group, Renault, Safran, IRT Saint Exupery, Sopra Steria, IRT SystemX, Thales, Valeo

About Confiance.ai
Driven by a group of 13 French companies and research organizations*, Confiance.ai is the technological pillar of the Grand Défi “Securing, certifying and enhancing the reliability of systems based on artificial intelligence”. Launched in January 2021 and led by the SystemX Institute for Technological Research (IRT), the ambition of this 4-year project is to design a platform of sovereign, open, interoperable and sustainable methods and tools that will enable AI of trust to be integrated into critical products and services. It brings together some forty industrial and academic partners in Saclay and Toulouse around seven R&D projects.
Confiance.ai is one of the structuring projects on which the second part of the national strategy for AI is based. This programme is funded to the tune of €30M by the Investments for the Future programme (PIA).
Confiance.ai contributes to the implementation of the future “AI Act” led by the European Commission.

About the Investments for the Future programme (PIA)

Created in 2010 and led by the General Secretariat for Investment under the authority of the Prime Minister, the PIA funds innovative projects that contribute to the transformation of the country, durable growth and the creation of the jobs of the future. From the emergence of an idea through to the release of a new product or service, the PIA supports the whole lifecycle of innovation, between public and private sectors, at the side of economic, academic, territorial and European partners. These investments rely on a rigorous doctrine, open selective procedures, and principles of co-funding or return on investment for the State. The fourth PIA (PIA4) has a budget of €20bn over the 2021-2025 period, including €11bn which will support innovative projects within the framework of the France Relance recovery plan. The PIA will continue to support innovation over time, in all its forms, in order for our country to reinforce its positions in fields of the future, in the service of competitivity, ecological transition, and the independence of our economy and our organisations.

More information on: www.gouvernement.fr/secretariat-general-pour-l-investissement-sgpi @SGPI_avenir

Media relations

Marion Molina – Claire Flin
Tel.: +33 (0)6 29 11 52 08 / 06 95 41 95 90 marionmolinapro@gmail.com / clairefline@gmail.com

General Secretariat for Investment

Tel.: +33 (0)1 42 75 64 58

presse.sgpi@pm.gouv.fr