Strategic partnership between UNICRI and 1Qbit to support the Centre on AI and Robotics
The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and 1QB Information Technologies, Inc. (1QBit) signed an agreement to establish a strategic partnership with respect to UNICRI’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics in The Hague, the Netherlands. This new strategic partnership is an important milestone for the Centre, which was established in September 2017 with the signature of a host country agreement between UNICRI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Through this new partnership, 1QBit will provide support to the Centre as it designs, develops and implements activities and innovative tools to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks associated with advancements in these fields.
Following the signature of the agreement, 1QBit President and Co-Founder, Mr. Landon Downs, said: “We are very pleased to announce our partnership with UNICRI. This is a valuable and extremely timely initiative. We hope the Centre will support countries around the world to take action and to ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence and robotics outweigh any potential risks. The UNICRI Centre in the Hague will be an important resource in this domain and one that we look forward to working with over the coming months and years.”
Jafar Javan, Acting Director of UNICRI, underlined that “We very much look forward to building on this new partnership with 1QBit to leverage advancements in these fields and contribute to address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges through exchange of knowledge, training, awareness-raising and and outreach activities.”
Going forward, UNICRI will endeavour to continue developing similar partnerships with governments, academia, private sector entities, NGOs, civil society, and researchers engaged in, or working on, AI and Robotics.
About 1QBit: 1QBit is dedicated to building quantum and quantum-inspired software to solve the world’s most demanding computational challenges. The company’s hardware-agnostic platforms and services enable the development of applications which scale alongside advances in both classical and quantum processors. 1QBit partners with Fortune 500 clients and leading hardware providers to redefine intractable industry problems found in the areas of optimization, simulation, and machine learning. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, 1QBit’s interdisciplinary team of 70 comprises mathematicians, physicists, chemists, software developers, and quantum computing experts who develop novel solutions to problems, from research through to commercial application development.
About UNICRI: With 50 years of experience, the mission of UNICRI is to advance justice, security and the rule of law in support of peace, human rights and sustainable development. The Institute designs and implement holistic and innovative policies and actions to confront traditional and emerging threats. UNICRI works in specialized niches and selected fields of crime prevention, justice, security governance, risks and benefits of advances in technologies, counter-terrorism and social cohesion. UNICRI serves as a platform for consultation and cooperation among Members States, local governments, research institutions, international organizations, private entities and civil society at large to enhance cross-sectoral dialogue and cooperation. In early 2015, UNICRI launched its programme on artificial intelligence and robotics, and with support of the Municipality of the Hague and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands signed the host country agreement for the opening of its Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in The Hague, the Netherlands, in September 2017.
Mr. Irakli Beridze from the UNICRI Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics can be contacted for more substantive information regarding the UNICRI activities in the above field and the Centre in The Hague.