Government of Canada partners with United Kingdom to invest in groundbreaking AI alignment research

Investment will pioneer research on safer AI and ensure economic growth

OTTAWA, ON, July 30, 2025 /CNW/ - Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) is key to unlocking Canada's prosperity, resiliency and security as well as strengthening the country's leadership. The Government of Canada is committed to scaling up Canada's AI ecosystem, building AI infrastructure, increasing the adoption of AI systems and strengthening trust. In doing so, it is essential to develop AI in a safe and responsible manner so that it benefits all Canadians.

Today, the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, announced that the Canadian AI Safety Institute, through the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, will contribute $1 million to the UK AI Security Institute's Alignment Project, a cutting-edge initiative to advance research on AI alignment. This critical field is focused on making advanced AI systems operate in a reliable and beneficial way, without unintended or harmful actions. The Alignment Project is backed by a CAN$29 million (£15.9 million) investment from an international coalition that includes Schmidt Sciences, Amazon Web Services, Halcyon Futures, the Safe AI Fund and the Advanced Research and Invention Agency.

The project will support pioneering work to keep advanced systems safe by maintaining transparency, predictability and responsiveness to human oversight. Through its collaborative approach, the project will remove key barriers that have previously limited alignment research by offering three distinct support streams:

• Grant funding: Up to $1.8 million for researchers across disciplines, including computer science and cognitive science
• Compute access: Dedicated compute resources, enabling technical experiments beyond typical academic reach
• Venture capital: Investment from private funders to accelerate commercial alignment solutions

The project will be guided by a world-class advisory board that includes Canadian AI expert Yoshua Bengio as well as Zico Kolter, Shafi Goldwasser and Andrea Lincoln.

This partnership will allow Canada to navigate this pivotal period of rapid technological advancement alongside profound geopolitical shifts and to position our country and its partners for success.

Quotes

"We are at a hinge moment in the story of AI, where our choices today will shape Canada's economic future and influence the global trajectory of this technology. By investing strategically in scale, infrastructure and adoption, we're not just fuelling opportunity for Canadians—we're making sure progress is matched by purpose and responsibility. That's why this partnership, uniting the Canadian AI Safety Institute and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research with the UK AI Security Institute, matters. Together, we're advancing cutting-edge research to ensure next generation of AI systems are not only powerful but also reliable—serving societies here at home and around the world."

– The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

"CIFAR is proud to partner in this vital international effort to ensure advanced AI systems remain aligned with human values. CIFAR's mandate is to convene the world's top researchers to address the most pressing challenges facing humanity, and few challenges are more urgent than ensuring AI is safe, predictable and beneficial for all. Through our leadership of the Canadian AI Safety Institute Research Program at CIFAR, we are advancing foundational research that will help safeguard the transformative potential of AI while protecting the public interest."

– Elissa Strome, Executive Director, Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

Quick facts

• Established in November 2024, the Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI) seeks to advance scientific understanding of the risks associated with advanced AI systems, develop measures to reduce those risks and build trust to foster AI innovation.
• CAISI is partnering with counterparts around the world, including the UK AI Security Institute, to advance common understandings of and responses to safety risks.
• CAISI leverages the robust Canadian AI research ecosystem and advances AI safety research through two research streams: investigator-led research via the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and government-directed projects led by the National Research Council of Canada.
• CIFAR is a globally influential research organization based in Canada. It mobilizes experts from across disciplines and at various career stages to advance transformative knowledge and solve complex problems.
• The Government of Canada has also launched other initiatives to support the safe and responsible development and deployment of AI systems and safe AI adoption across the Canadian economy, including the Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems and a guide for managers on implementing the Code of Conduct.

Associated links

• Canadian AI Safety Institute
• Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR)
• Artificial intelligence ecosystem
• Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems
• UK AI Security Institute

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Contacts: Sofia Ouslis, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]