Political strategies for Artificial Intelligence

What steps are politicians taking in the face of the disruptive changes heralded by Artificial Intelligence? An overview of the AI strategies of selected countries.

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Cornerstones of political AI strategies

Over the next few years, Artificial Intelligence will change business and daily life worldwide. To shape the associated political and social developments and challenges, a number of governments have produced political AI strategies in which they set out their goals and key areas of activity. The following is an overview of the main content of the strategies that selected countries are pursuing.

  • Key areas for political IT strategies at a glance
  • Germany

  • European Union

  • Australia

  • Belgium

  • Canada

  • China

  • Denmark

  • Finland

  • France

  • India

  • Japan

  • Netherlands

  • Norway

  • Poland

  • Portugal

  • Russia

  • Singapore

  • South Korea

  • Spain

  • Sweden

  • Turkey

  • United Kingdom

  • USA

Germany

In November 2018, the German Federal Government announced its national Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. The goal is to establish “AI made in Germany” as an international trademark for cutting-edge, secure AI applications aimed at serving the common good in line with Europe’s core values. From now until 2025, the Federal Government will allocate some five billion euros to pursuing this strategy. Plattform Lernende Systeme will support the roll-out of this AI strategy and expand to become a platform for Artificial Intelligence in order to achieve this.

Political aims

Starting out from a strong position in terms of research, Germany is to become a leading country for the study, development and application of Artificial Intelligence.

  • Achieve technology leadership and “AI made in Germany” as a seal of quality
  • Develop and use AI responsibly
  • Development of AI solutions as a contribution to the environment and climate protection
  • Promote dialogue throughout society sector
  • Building a European AI ecosystem that expands the competitiveness of business and research, promotes diverse AI applications in the interest of society, and is based on European values.

Areas of activity

Expanding AI research

  • Developing a national network of at least twelve centres and application hubs
  • Establishment of a world-leading European AI network branded as "AI - Made in Europe
  • Establishing a minimum of 100 additional AI professorships and strengthening the teaching and promotion of young talent in the field of AI
  • Using attractive working conditions and remuneration to draw in and retain the brightest minds
  • Developing a Franco-German research and innovation network (“virtual centre”)
  • Strengthening interdisciplinary research on AI
  • Implementation of AI Challenges and Establishment of a German Award for "KI Made in Germany


Knowledge transfer, application and entrepreneurship

  • Speeding up progress from research to concrete AI applications using test fields, living labs, model trials, regional clusters and cutting-edge forms of support
  • Improving ways for companies to access AI technologies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises via “SME 4.0 Competence Centres”
  • Promoting the growth of AI start-ups by way of support programmes (e.g. EXIST) and venture capital
  • Drawing up an AI map of applications and stakeholders – monitoring AI and networking companies and institutions
  • Founding an agency for radical innovation with AI as a major focus
  • Setting up a European AI innovation cluster and holding innovation competitions
  • Public presentation of best practices (especially with the help of Plattform Lernende Systeme)


International and public dialogue

  • European and transatlantic dialogue on human-centric use of AI in working environments
  • Dialogue throughout society on how to shape AI ethically, legally, culturally and institutionally – Germany’s Platform for Artificial Intelligence will play a key role in this process
  • Expanding an ecosystem for public good AI, including launching the Civic Innovation Platform, Civic Data Lab, and Civic Tech Labs for Green projects

Changes to the world of work

  • Adopting a comprehensive and humane approach based on the autonomous development of abilities and talents, social security and workers’ health
  • Forming regional competence centres for studying and organising labour
  • Monitoring specialist workers and pursuing a national training strategy to boost employees’ skills, particularly in relation to digital transformation and AI
  • Researching the effects of AI at the workplace in experimental operational environments and involving works councils at an early stage of introducing AI applications
  • Training HR officers, staff councils and works councils (e.g. in future centres)
  • Development of an AI-supported online entry portal for continuing vocational training


Data usage, data security, law and ethics

  • Promote research on the control and traceability of algorithmic prediction and decision-making systems, and on consumer protection and privacy
  • Making data available, e.g. through potential data partnerships between companies and research institutes and by establishing incentives and framework conditions for voluntary data sharing (including from publicly financed research projects) in compliance with data protection regulations
  • Modifying competition and copyright law to increase the volume of usable data without disclosing personal data or proprietary know-how (“Competition Law 4.0 Commission”)
  • Adaptation of the Labor Law and Employee Data Protection Act
  • Creating a legally secure regulatory framework for AI players

European Union

As early as April 2018, the European Commission published an agenda for the promotion of artificial intelligence in Europe, and in December 2018 it presented the Coordinated Plan for Artificial Intelligence in cooperation with the High Level Expert Group on AI, a network of leading European AI experts, and the European AI Alliance. This was followed in spring 2020 by the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence, in which the EU Commission presented a framework for trustworthy AI for discussion, based on excellence and trust.

Political aims

The aim of the EU is to enable scientific breakthroughs and European technological leadership in the field of Artificial Intelligence. New technologies should serve all Europeans, improving their lives while respecting their rights. The joint action to strengthen European innovation aims to

  • Expansion of investments and development of the AI infrastructure
  • Creation of an ethical and legal framework
  • Promotion of education and research

Areas of activity

Strategic measures and coordination

  • Further development of Member States' national AI strategies
  • Europe should go its own way together

Public and private investment

  • Boosting the EU Commission’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme
  • Investing in various AI technologies and applications (e.g. Big Data, robotics, mobility, health)
  • Developing a platform for AI on demand that gives European users access to relevant AI resources
  • Using the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) for the targeted financing of companies and start-ups
  • Application of AI in the public sector (Adopt AI programme)

Education, research and skills

Ethical and legal frameworks

  • Establishing ethics guidelines for the development of AI (based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU), including close cooperation in the European AI Alliance
  • Orientation towards the principles of European data protection and European product liability directives

Transfer to the market

  • Networking Europe’s top AI research centres
  • Construction of test facilities (e.g. for networked and autonomous driving)
  • Development of platforms and large-scale pilot projects with AI elements in areas such as energy, health care, manufacturing, geoinformation and agriculture
  • Promotion of the integration of AI and data analysis in lighthouse initiatives in the fields of manufacturing, mobility, personalised medicine
  • Faster AI diffusion through digital innovation centres

Infrastructure

  • Investments in high-performance computers, quantum computers and AI and data infrastructure
  • Further development of the European Open Science Cloud
  • Development of a pan-European high-performance computing infrastructure

Australia

Acting on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Industry Innovation and Science, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) published an Artificial Intelligence Roadmap focusing on Australia’s economic development using artificial intelligence (AI) in April 2019. In parallel to this, CSIRO also published a discussion paper on an ethics framework for AI.

Political goals

In terms of the Australian population’s well-being, AI is regarded as a technology with significant benefits but also an ethical risk. The political aims regarding the use of artificial intelligence are as follows:

  • Boosting economic growth and the productivity of Australia’s industry
  • Creating jobs and raising the standard of living
  • Using AI in a considered, ethical manner to improve living conditions, reduce the number of fatal road accidents and transform society

Areas of action

Natural resources and the environment

  • Increased use of agricultural robots, automated mining technology and intelligent environmental management
  • Enhanced resource management combined with more efficient agriculture, forestry, mining and fisheries

Health, ageing and disability

  • Cutting health expenditure and providing high-quality AI-based care for the entire population
  • Applying AI-based preventive and treatment options to combat chronic illnesses and Hehmeet the challenges of an ageing society
  • Using AI to support people with disabilities and assist their integration into the labour market

Cities, towns and infrastructure

  • Utilising AI-based technologies to improve the safety, efficiency and quality of the public infrastructure
  • Using AI to plan, design, build, operate and maintain urban infrastructure, with a particular focus on automation and sensor systems

Belgium

The AI 4 Belgium Coalition was established in March 2019 at the instigation of Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Digital Agenda. This consortium of experts is working towards creating a national initiative for issuing recommendations for action on Artificial Intelligence. The group has published a catalogue of measures calling for action to promote education, talent, data and institutions, and recommends investing at least one billion euros in AI between now and 2030.

Political goals

  • Standardising and pooling existing AI initiatives and strategies in the regions of Flanders, Walloon and Brussels
  • Using AI to prevent diseases, reduce energy consumption, boost purchasing power and improve traffic management
  • Investing up to 30 billion euros in general digital transformation
  • Investing 30 million euros via the region of Flanders in research into AI, its implementation in businesses, and education and ethics

Areas of action

Educational concept

  • Boosting awareness of evolving fields of work and requirements profiles
  • Improving further vocational training opportunities for citizens and developing new training programmes
  • Obliging employers to offer staff opportunities for lifelong learning, involving universities
  • Focusing on programming, algorithmic thinking and soft skills in schools


Responsible data strategy

  • Involving civil society in the ethical debate about Artificial Intelligence and raising politicians’ awareness
  • Creating a Belgian Ethics Committee to support businesses and state institutions in ethical aspects of Artificial Intelligence
  • Establishing an independent Belgian data sharing platform and making existing data platforms more transparent

Demystifying and disseminating Artificial Intelligence

  • Developing a massive open online course (MOOC) to train at least one percent of the Belgian population
  • Public information programme to communicate the positive aspects of AI for society
  • Establishing a certified European Digital Innovation Hub throughout Belgium
  • Funding for small and medium-sized enterprises to assist trials of AI


Developing, attracting and anchoring talent

  • Setting up sandboxes as virtual test areas for software and positioning Belgium as a European laboratory for AI research
  • Setting up bachelor’s and master’s degree courses in Artificial Intelligence
  • Easing immigration requirements for highly skilled foreign AI specialists
  • Developing public-private partnerships to offer practical training to students


Self-perception of state institutions

  • Transforming public institutions into platforms as part of an ecosystem
  • Overhauling state tendering processes to enable innovative concepts
  • Appointing a Chief Digital Officer to coordinate nationwide efforts involving AI

Canada

In 2017, the Canadian government published the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which is being coordinated by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). The government is providing around 108 million euros for the strategy up to 2022.

Political aims

The following goals were highlighted when the strategy was announced as part of the budget plan for 2017:

  • To establish a national AI research network
  • To be opinion leader in the global debate regarding the economic, political, ethical and legal consequences of artificial intelligence
  • To transfer AI research to public and private-sector applications that deliver socio-economic benefits for Canada

Areas of activity

Expanding research

  • Establishing three new research centres focusing on deep learning and reinforcement learning research: Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII), Vector Institute and Mila
  • Setting up new AI professorships at universities
  • Supporting, attracting and retaining AI researchers


Networking and transfer

  • Expanding the new research centres to become central hubs for a national research network
  • Supporting meetings, collaborations and summer and winter schools

Social Discussion

  • Establishing working groups to examine the economic, political and social consequences of AI
  • Initiating an international and interdisciplinary network of experts on ethical and inclusive AI (in partnership with the French government)

China

In July 2017, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology presented a national strategy for Artificial Intelligence under the title A Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. The long-term goal of being a global leader in AI innovation by 2030 is laid out in a three-year plan published in December 2017. In 2023, regulatory measures were adopted to deal with AI.

Political aims

The Chinese government regards Artificial Intelligence as a key industry for the future. It is pooling strengths and using a comprehensive roadmap to pursue clear economic policy objectives.

  • By 2020: To catch up with the USA in the field of Artificial Intelligence
  • By 2025: To achieve bigger breakthroughs and take on a leading role in relation to specific AI applications
  • By 2030: To lead the world in research, development and application of AI. For the national AI industry (target market value of 130 billion euros) to make a major contribution to added value in the country.

Areas of activity

Open and collaborative innovation system for AI

  • Pooling all resources from politics, research and business to establish innovation and research centres and data pools
  • Developing AI-based models, methods and software solutions for specific applications
  • Focusing research on Big Data, networked and swarm intelligence, and hybrid and autonomous systems
  • Supporting interdisciplinary research


Applications for a highly efficient smart economy

  • Developing and distributing AI applications in key industries (e.g. medicine, smart city, agriculture, security, military and manufacturing industry)
  • Forcing breakthroughs in networked mobility, service robotics, medical diagnostics, voice recognition, translation and smart home
  • Integrating AI technologies into industrial applications (e.g. CNC, industrial robots)
  • Supporting development environments and open source platforms

Know-how and Talent

  • Establishing training centres for basic and further training
  • Recruiting the best AI researchers in the world
  • Providing an AI knowledge base and training courses to ensure expertise can be rapidly transferred to industrial use


Supportive Framework Conditions

  • Establishing standards for AI applications
  • Expanding the network infrastructure
  • Developing ethical, political and regulatory guidelines for handling AI

 

Regulation

  • Regulation on recommendation algorithms (Algorithm register as an online database)
  • Rules for marking synthetically generated content (deep synthesis)
  • Draft rules for dealing with generative AI: content specifications, mandatory registration with the algorithm registry

Denmark

In 2018, the strategy paper Strategy for Denmark's Digital Growth presented policy initiatives for digital transformation for the first time. Building on this, Denmark's national AI strategy was published in March 2019. Key starting points are healthcare, energy and utilities, agriculture and transport.

Political goals

Denmark aims to be a pioneer in the development of responsible AI. Four goals are central to this:

  • Developing an ethical and human-centered basis for AI
  • Prioritizing and supporting AI research
  • Setting incentives for companies to develop and use AI
  • Ensuring the use of AI in the public sector for the benefit of citizens and society

Fields of action

Human capital

  • Increased use of educational opportunities for digital and AI-related skills
  • Generating a culture of lifelong learning and ongoing workforce training

Value creation

  • Promoting digital research as well as AI research.
  • Supporting the creation and growth of AI companies
  • Promoting innovation through pilot projects

Regulation and legislation

  • Development of an ethical framework to improve trust and safety of AI.
  • Foundation: self-determination, human dignity, equality, and justice .
  • Evaluate and expand the current regulatory framework to ensure responsible AI development.

Societal challenges

  • Ongoing improvement of the security and trustworthiness of the digital economy
  • Providing energy, resource, and smart city data for intelligent approaches to emissions and consumption reduction

Finland

In December 2017, the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment published a national AI strategy entitled Finland’s Age of Artificial Intelligence.

Political aims

The government’s goal is to position Finland as a leading nation when it comes to AI applications. It aims to pave the way for achieving this in both business and the public sector by working openly with data.

  • To strengthen the export and service-focused Finnish economy through AI-based services and business models
  • To focus on four sectors: Energy, medicine, mobility, industry
  • To modernise the public sector with better services for citizens

Areas of activity

Entrepreneurial ecosystems for AI applications

  • Establishing accelerators close to the research sector that give companies the opportunity to test applications
  • Offering open pilot and test environments for start-ups, SMEs and foreign companies
  • Dismantling barriers for companies – easy access to AI applications and programming courses (e.g. MOOC at the University of Helsinki)


Legal framework for using data

  • Prioritising the provision of data needed for new business models (not: data protection)
  • Encouraging companies to share data pools efficiently
  • Giving citizens access to personal data that has been gathered publicly
  • Expanding the legal framework at European level

AI expertise as a locational factor

  • Establishing an internationally renowned Centre of Excellence for AI
  • Ensuring all citizens have a basic understanding of AI applications
  • Incorporating AI into application-oriented study courses and into vocational training
  • Positioning Finland as a location with an ideal public-sector framework for AI research and development


Public sector as an AI pioneer

  • Incorporating AI into all public services
  • Employing a team of top AI experts to develop applications
  • Extending cooperation between the public and private sector

France

In March 2018, President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech in which he set out the fundamentals of a French AI strategy entitled AI for Humanity. A report published by French member of parliament Cédric Villani in March forms an important basis for this strategy.

Political aims

France emphasises that Artificial Intelligence must work for the benefit of people and gives the state an important controlling function. State funding amounting to 1.5 billion euros up to 2022 has been earmarked for expanding research into AI and for its use.

  • To establish an open data policy for the implementation of AI applications
  • To focus on four sectors: Health, environment, mobility, security/defence
  • To promote European cooperation on AI

Areas of activity

AI ecosystem for France and Europe

  • Establishing a national office of coordination (under the direction of INRIA) to network French AI expertise
  • Founding four to five AI groupings with partners from science and business (e.g. PRAIRIE)
  • Expanding AI research and recruiting international researchers


Open data

  • Providing public data for publicly supported projects
  • Establishing shared data platforms for the public and private sector
  • Opening the database at European level
  • Stimulating the public debate on the handling of data

Legal and ethical issues

  • Modifying the legal framework for the development of AI (e.g. for autonomous driving by 2022, conducting regional experiments with exemption rules beforehand)
  • Dialogue about ethical issues at European and international level (primarily Canada) with the aim of creating an organisation like the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for AI
  • Transparency of algorithms
  • Ethical code for programmers

India

India’s government has recognised that AI has the potential to transform the country’s economy and has tasked its policy think tank NITI Aayog with developing a national AI programme. In June 2018, following several rounds of discussions, NITI Aayog published a discussion paper on the national strategy for artificial intelligence.

Political goals

  • Using AI-based products, services and innovations to boost the economy
  • Utilising AI for social development and to improve the standard of living
  • Establishing India as an international “playground” for AI research
  • Focusing the application of AI on healthcare, agriculture, education, infrastructure and mobility

Areas of action

Research and application

  • Creating Centres of Research Excellence for AI (COREs)
  • Funding National AI Fellowships to retain outstanding graduates and acquire international students
  • Attracting large international commercial enterprises to create International Centres for Transformational AI (ICTAIs) for the areas of healthcare, education, agriculture, smart mobility and smart cities
  • Setting up a cloud platform for big data with an extensive AI computer infrastructure connecting all COREs and ICTAIs

Accelerating adoption of AI

  • Establishing public platforms to make available data records from the social sector
  • Preparing government guidelines to establish a data marketplace with the aim of encouraging collaboration and saving both time and money
  • Promoting workshops, live demonstrations and an index with the best national AI projects for employers
  • Forming a network for government AI research projects that can be financially rewarded for promising results
  • Setting up funds to finance AI projects in collaboration with state governments

Reskilling and training

  • AI training units for employees, leading to a nationally recognised qualification
  • AI-related courses/modules at schools and universities
  • Setting up a committee to monitor the changes triggered by AI in academic and professional circles

Responsible AI development

  • Establishing an ethics council at each CORE and ICTAI
  • Implementing a data protection framework to protect human rights and privacy without stifling innovation
  • Collaborating with industry to define specific guidelines on privacy, security and ethics
  • Assisting COREs with research into new AI technologies for safeguarding privacy more effectively

Japan

The Strategic Council for AI Technology was founded in April 2016 to promote Artificial Intelligence in Japan. The organisation published an Artificial Intelligence Technology Strategy in March 2017. The goals and measures contained therein support the vision of a super-smart “Society 5.0”, as pursued by Prime Minister Shinzō Abes for several years with a package of policies (“Abenomics”). Other AI-related strategy papers produced in Japan include its Industrialization Roadmap, Integrated Innovation Strategy.

Political goals

The Japanese approach to Artificial Intelligence focuses on the potential for social development:

  • Boosting social productivity and the creativity of its citizens
  • Using big data to spearhead medical care and welfare technology
  • Improving travel for its citizens, taking better care of the environment, and eradicating all accidents by 2030
  • Creating robust economic development of Artificial Intelligence coupled with appropriate evaluation criteria and awards

Areas of action

Research and development (R&D)

  • Trebling business investment in universities and R&D institutes by 2027
  • Promoting skilled workers, particularly high-level industrial-scientific collaboration
  • Creating a working and scientific environment that provides incentives for AI experts
  • Boosting energy efficiency and reducing the spatial dimensions of supercomputers


Data management

  • Capturing the information required to create an effective data environment and integrating input/output devices (e.g. sensors)
  • Creating incentives for companies to provide data
  • Increasing data compatibility by means of standard profiles and standardised data formats

Productivity

  • Highly customising mass production by automating and optimising production systems
  • Improving the service sector
  • Supporting start-ups through “open innovation”


Health, medical care and welfare

  • Preventing diseases and increasing life expectancy with AI-based preventive medicine
  • Reducing social expenditure
  • Combating the issues caused by a shrinking workforce


Mobility

  • Increasing the freedom, environmental credentials and safety of travel
  • Establishing AI-based sharing services for people and goods

Netherlands

At the end of 2018, the public-private partnership AINED produced a roadmap for developing a Dutch AI strategy. In October 2019, the Dutch government published the Strategic Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence.

Political goals

  • Maintaining economic growth and prosperity
  • Assisting with societal challenges such as an ageing Dutch society, climate change and food safety
  • Protecting rights to privacy and non-discrimination/li>

Areas of action

The Dutch government focuses on three areas

Capitalising on economic and societal opportunities offered by AI

  • Developing knowledge and innovation agendas for key AI technologies for the period 2020 - 2023
  • Conducting research into legal principles relating to the use of AI
  • Using AI for public tasks and for training civil servants
  • Organising round tables for the public and expert meetings on AI
  • Supporting start-ups focusing on AI by improving access to seed and venture capital
  • Encouraging synergies between academic and business organisations
  • Regional smart industry hubs that support SMEs with tools and training modules on the responsible use of AI

Creating the right conditions – research, training and data

  • AI agenda published by the Dutch Research Council (NWO)
  • Establishing a leading European AI knowledge centre
  • Investing in a supercomputer
  • Strengthening international AI cooperation
  • Investing in training and development for AI applications
  • Creating a National Data Science training programme
  • Revising digital literacy curricula with the involvement of companies
  • Active commitment to a joint European data platform
  • Investing in high-performance computing

Strengthening the foundations – human rights, trust, consumer protection and security

  • Encouraging the involvement of Dutch companies and organisations in the development of ethical guidelines for AI by the European Commission’s Expert Group
  • Research into transparent, socially conscious and responsible AI
  • Developing expertise on new technologies, and also on business models and their competition-related effects
  • Research into the impact of AI on national security, and the possibilities for using AI in IT and cyber security

Norway

In early 2020, Norway published the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence for the civil sector. The focus is on the development of responsible and trustworthy AI guided by ethical principles in terms of human rights and democracy.

Fields of action

Human capital

  • Promote education and training of new workforce related to AI.
  • Measures to retrain the workforce

Value creation

  • Increasing the attractiveness of Norwegian AI companies on a European and international level
  • Focus on application and innovation potential of AI to create value in the economy
  • Increase the size of the Norwegian language database as a cornerstone for successful value creation in AI language processing

Regulation

  • Examine existing regulations and their impact on AI development and commercialization
  • Create guidelines for transparency and reliability of AI algorithms

Infrastructure

  • Promote the provision of high quality data sets
  • Facilitate data sharing between the public and private sectors

Poland

Poland's national AI strategy was adopted in December 2020. The focus is on society, education, science, economy, public affairs and international relations. The strategic mission is to protect human dignity and create conditions for fair global competition. Poland is focusing on trustworthy AI and the promotion of an AI ecosystem.

Areas of action

Human Capital

  • Demonstrating the need for and benefits of AI to the population
  • Reforming the Polish education system to promote AI and digital literacy among students at all levels of education
  • Providing AI training programs, IT courses, programming and data processing courses.

Value creation

  • Establish a virtual research institute for artificial intelligence (VIR), in collaboration with companies, universities and non-governmental organizations
  • Multi-faceted support for research and development and AI innovation
  • Introduction of AI in the public sector to fully exploit potentials

Regulation

  • Establishment of various observatories and chairs to address ethical and legal issues
  • Monitor European and international AI legislation and regulation

Infrastructure

  • Establish a data policy to ensure the availability of high-quality data and improve interoperability and data sharing
  • Creating virtual data warehouses where companies can share their industry data in trusted and cyber-secured data spaces

Societal challenges

  • Investing in AI initiatives that support the goals of the European Green Deal
  • Among them: Transforming energy production, moving factories to circular production, creating greener and smarter buildings and infrastructure, and reducing emissions in transportation
  • Establishing space, earth and ocean observatories for climate change

Portugal

In June 2019, the Portuguese government presented the national AI strategy AI Portugal 2030. The focus here is on people as the driving force behind AI development. Central topics are integration, education, qualification, specialization and research.

Fields of action

Human capital

  • Empowering and empowering the population in relation to the challenges posed by the
  • use of AI technologies Raising the level of AI education.
  • Improving the skills of the workforce and promoting AI specialization.

Value creation

  • Building an AI research and business ecosystem through government investment and incentives
  • Promoting AI products and services from lab to market to stimulate knowledge-intensive AI research and entrepreneurial ecosystems

Regulation

  • Establish an ethics committee to set guidelines for AI and automation
  • Develop a legal and regulatory framework to assess the reliability of AI decisions
  • Assist companies and regulators in developing appropriate legal frameworks

Infrastructure

  • Establish a national data infrastructure as a central repository for administrative data
  • Provide infrastructure for experimentation and testing of AI and robotics applications

Societal challenges

  • Collaborate with the Portuguese Space Agency for the use of AI in the analysis of climate, environmental and sustainability data

Russia

In October 2019 Russia published its national strategy for Artificial Intelligence. The basic principles formulated in the strategy, which are intended to guide Russian AI development, include security, transparency, technological sovereignty, integrity of the innovation cycle, protection of human rights, cost-effectiveness and the promotion of competition.

Political goals

  • Improvement of the living standards of the Russian population
  • Maintaining national security and the rule of law
  • Sustainable competitiveness of the Russian economy
  • International leading position in the field of Artificial Intelligence

Fields of action

Expansion of AI research

  • Reorientation of science: main objective is the development of a General Artificial Intelligence (GAI); further priorities: development of algorithmic simulations of biological systems and self-learning autonomous algorithms
  • Continued financial support and increased incentives for investment in AI development
  • Implementation of interdisciplinary scientific projects and patent searches in various economic sectors
  • Expansion of the scientific infrastructure and creation of databases with access for scientists

Promotion of AI development

  • Financial support for young software developers and reduction of entry barriers for pilot projects
  • Establishment of worldwide usable open source libraries for AI, coordinated by Russian scientists
  • Creation of common standards regarding the security of AI software

Availability of data on AI development

  • Support of Russian manufacturers of high-speed and energy-efficient processors
  • Simplified opportunities for prototype development and testing in dedicated centres shared by leading experts
  • Establishment of high-performance centres for data processing

Qualified personnel

  • Integration of new modules on programming, deep learning, data analysis etc. at all levels of learning and intensification of MINT subjects in schools
  • Further training opportunities for employees and management on AI
  • Incentives for the return of Russian AI experts from abroad and foreign AI specialists
  • Public relations work for the benefit of AI technologies in order to arouse interest in this field

Regulation of social human-technology relationships

  • Legal regulation of access to data for society, business and science
  • Creating a flexible regulatory legal system that ensures public security and incentives for AI development
  • Establishment of rules for simplified testing of AI developments and the possibility to delegate decisions to an AI system

Singapore

In 2017, the Singapore government launched a national initiative via the National Research Foundation (NRF) called AI Singapore to promote Artificial Intelligence. A budget of 130 million euros is being injected into this five-year project to implement various measures aimed at training AI specialists and assisting businesses. A tool called Smart Nation had previously been established in November 2014 for steering and developing technological innovations in urban areas.

Political goals

Singapore is pursuing holistic goals with its national AI initiatives:

  • Expanding national expertise in the field of Artificial Intelligence in the name of social and economic progress
  • Supporting AI experts and creating an AI-assisted economic system
  • Promoting industry-focused research into smart city applications (relating to life, transport, health, etc.)

Areas of action

Grand Challenges

  • Encouraging interdisciplinary teams to solve AI-specific challenges in the areas of health, smart cities and finance

100Experiments

  • Financial, individual and organisational support for industry to address specific problems and for establishing teams of experts

AI Apprenticeship Programme

  • Fostering local talent by means of courses, training in real-life industrial applications, and AI-related bursaries

AI For Industry

  • Teaching practical AI basics in the programming language Python – supported by face-to-face workshops and online training – to engineers, software developers and managers

AI For Everyone

  • Training and teaching basic AI methods (e.g. machine learning, deep learning) and their business applications

Focal points of other initiatives

  • Support for small and medium-sized enterprises in using digital technologies
  • Facilitating partnerships between local businesses and manufacturers of AI applications

South Korea

The South Korean government published its national strategy for Artificial Intelligence in December 2019. The strategy consists of nine fields of action and 100 individual tasks, which can be divided into three areas: AI ecosystem, AI utilization and people-oriented AI.

Political Aims

Core strategies and goals till 2030 are innovation of AI competitiveness, full-scale utilization of AI and harmony and coexistence with AI.

  • Establishment of global-leading AI ecosystem
  • To become the country that makes best use of AI
  • Realization of people-centered AI

Areas of activity

AI Infrastructure enhancement

  • Full opening of public data
  • Opening and distributing the data in 10 big data platforms
  • Establishing data platforms in public sectors (government-wide)
  • Securing high-performance computing resource

Securing competitiveness in AI technology

  • Developing next-generation intelligent semiconductor and new-concept AI chips
  • Making proactive investments in next-generation AI research and development
  • Expanding support for basic AI research and cognitive science
  • Complete reorganization of AI research and development

Drastic regulatory innovation and revision of laws

  • Establishing framework legislation and reorganizing the legal system

Nurturing global AI start-ups

  • Creating an AI investment fund
  • Identifying and nurturing AI startups
  • Improving the legal system to promote AI startups

Nurturing AI talent and educating People

  • Fostering AI master’s and doctoral degrees
  • Expanding and diversifying AI graduate programs
  • Spreading AI education for all military personnel
  • Providing AI training for employees at SMEs and startups
  • AI education for general public
  • Continuously expanding high schools focused on AI curriculum

Diffusing AI technology across all Industry areas

  • Advancing smart factories based on AI
  • Building industrial data platforms
  • Supporting the innovation for SMEs using AI
  • Supporting medical data-oriented hospitals and demonstrating medical AI services and products
  • Developing autonomous cooperative driving technology

Building a digital government

  • Advancing a citizen-led problem-solving platform
  • Analyzing criminal information for predicting and responding to occurrence of crime
  • Developing a digital service contract system

Establishing an inclusive job safety network

  • Upgrading a National Job Information Platform and establishing a job matching system
  • Improving AI competency of teachers and lecturers

Preventing dysfunction and establishing AI ethics

  • Innovating intelligent information protection through AI
  • Establishing a AI code of ethics
  • Developing technologies preventing AI dysfunctions and establishing a inter-ministerial cooperative system

Spain

In December 2020, Spain published the National AI Strategy Report. The goal was to develop a legal framework for the state administration that enables innovative AI development.

Political goals

The strategy takes a multidisciplinary approach that combines economic, social, environmental and administrative aspects of AI. At the same time, it aims to promote AI as part of the Spanish economy through concrete AI-focused actions at the national level, while aligning with EU policies.

Fields of action

Human capital

  • Providing technical knowledge for today's and tomorrow's workforce
  • Promoting advanced forms of study, especially multidisciplinary approaches

Value creation

  • Coordinating research, development and innovation by linking the policies of the state and autonomous regions
  • Establishing a thriving innovation environment that further promotes the development of AI technologies, through business support programs and testbeds for innovation

Regulation

  • Ethical and legal framework that protects individual and collective rights and ensures social well-being
  • Establish a control system for ethics in AI and develop a trustworthy AI certificate.

Infrastructure

  • Establish a central data management body at the national level and appoint a Chief Data Officer, responsible for initiatives to create secure data repositories in the EU and coordinate AI applications
  • Promote AI infrastructure for natural language processing, especially for Spanish

Societal challenges

  • Use AI to combat the Covid-19 pandemic to better prepare health systems for such events

Sweden

In May 2018, Sweden published its first landmark AI strategy, the National Approach for Artificial Intelligence. This serves as the government's reference for further policy initiatives to strengthen Sweden's prosperity and competitiveness with the help of A

Political goals

The focus of Swedish AI activities is on education and training, innovation and value creation, framework conditions and infrastructure, and research.

Fields of action

Human capital

  • Promote lifelong learning as well as university teaching related to AI.
  • Evaluate and adapt the skills of the workforce to a changing marketplace driven by AI

Value creation

  • Creating a healthy foundation for successful value creation
  • Measures: applied research environments, strong links to international AI initiatives, and AI risk management

Regulierung

  • Establish rules, standards, norms and ethics for sustainable development and use of AI
  • Advance Swedish and international standards and regulations for risk-free use of AI
  • Create legislation to promote the use of AI and minimize risks to society and individuals

Infrastructure

  • Establish digital infrastructure, high-quality data infrastructure, and well-developed telecommunications infrastructure in terms of computing power, connectivity, and network capacity.

Societal challenges

  • Accelerating AI innovation to combat climate change, environmental issues, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic

Turkey

In August 2021, Turkey's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2021-2025 came into force after active participation of all relevant stakeholders. To implement this strategy, a National AI Steering Committee was established to help formulate national policies in the AI field. 

Political Aims

The strategy's vision is to generate "value creation on a global scale with an agile and sustainable AI ecosystem for a prosperous Turkey." It focuses on the following goals by 2025:

  • Raising the contribution of AI to the gross national product to five percent
  • Hiring 50,000 employees in the AI sector, including 1,000 in government institutions
  • Focusing AI applications on commercialization opportunities and the needs of local ecosystems
  • Actively participate in the international research and standardization process on cross-border data use and responsible AI.

Areas of activity

To achieve its goals, Turkey's AI strategy defines six strategic priorities:

  • Training AI experts and increasing AI employment.
  • Supporting research, entrepreneurship and innovation
    • Improving incentives and legislation on intellectual property, patents and exports
  • Facilitating access to high-quality data and technical infrastructure
    • Creating shared and improved access to high-performance computing infrastructure and open source software and databases
  • Acceleration of socio-economic adaptation through regulation.
    • Establish an agile and inclusive legal harmonization process to test and discuss ethical and legal scenarios
  • Strengthening international cooperation
  • Accelerating structural and employment change

United Kingdom

In November 2017, the UK government published an initial strategy paper that defined Artificial Intelligence as a building block for economic and industrial growth. In March 2018, a House of Lords Select Committee presented a report on the economic, ethical and social consequences of AI. In April 2018, a UK AI strategy appeared in the form of the AI Sector Deal.

Political aims

The government wants to make the UK the world’s most innovative economy through digitalisation. The aim is that Artificial Intelligence should deliver excellent workplaces and a higher standard of living for all.

  • To establish the UK as an attractive high-tech location for start-ups and entrepreneurs
  • To expand the digital infrastructure
  • To promote and support AI-related collaborations

Areas of activity

Investment-friendly environment

  • Increasing government funding for research and development
  • Offering tax incentives for AI research and development


Basic and further training in AI

  • Investing in the teaching of STEM subjects and in digital education
  • Training all sections of the population in AI, particularly in economically underdeveloped regions

Investment in digital infrastructure

  • Expanding digital mobility concepts and supporting electromobility and digitally supported charging
  • Promoting the construction of smart homes
  • Investing in state-of-the-art broadband expansion


Economic development

  • Supporting partnerships between the state and industry, primarily in the sectors of health, mechanical engineering and automotive
  • Establishing an investment fund for British business supported by the British Business Bank
  • Evaluating all political measures to improve business innovation

USA

In May 2023, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released an updated version of the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan under the Biden-Harris Administration. The adopted policies are intended to set the framework for government funding efforts while advancing research and development and the use of trusted AI. The report, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Future of Teaching and Learning: Insights and Recommendations, also summarizes opportunities and risks of AI in education. Through a Request for Information (RFI), OSTP engages the public on critical AI issues.

Political aims

  • AI use based on democratic values and respecting the rights and safety of individuals
  • Development and use of AI systems to promote the public good
  • Focus on international cooperation

Areas of activity

Investing in fundamental and responsible AI research for the long term.

  • Promote data-driven methods and federated approaches to machine learning
  • Develop AI systems and simulations in real and virtual environments, and improve the perceptual capabilities of AI systems
  • Understanding theoretical capabilities and limitations of AI


Developing methods for human-AI collaboration

  • Seeking improved models and metrics
  • Building trust and greater understanding in human-AI interaction


Considering the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI

  • Investing in basic research to advance fundamental values
  • Understanding and mitigating social and ethical risks of AI, and using AI to solve ethical, legal, and societal problems


Ensuring the safety and security of AI systems

  • Developing safe AI and securing AI


Public datasets and environments for AI training and testing

  • Developing shared advanced computing and hardware resources, as well as open-source software libraries and toolkits

Measurement and evaluation of AI systems

  • Increasing the availability of AI test environments
  • Engaging the AI community in standards and benchmarks


Better understanding of the national AI professional workforce needs

  • Evaluation of the need for AI professionals
  • Educate/retrain workforce and develop AI expertise while considering ethical, legal, and societal implications
  • Exploring the impact of diverse and multidisciplinary expertise


Expanding public-private partnerships

  • Engaging more diverse stakeholders
  • Improving, expanding, and creating mechanisms for R&D partnerships


Creating a principled and coordinated approach to international collaboration in AI research

  • International collaboration for global challenges (e.g., sustainability, healthcare, manufacturing)
  • Develop international standards and guidelines for trustworthy AI

Cornerstones of national AI strategies

Different countries set different priorities for their national AI strategies. Here is an overview: