National AI Strategies Highlights

Argentina

•  Nothing changed.

Australia

•  Nothing changed.

Austria

•  Nothing changed.

Belgium

•  Nothing changed. 

Brazil

•  Nothing changed.

Canada

• Canada successfully established three new artificial intelligence institutes, namely; “Amii in Edmonton, Mila in Montreal, and the Vector Institute in Toronto”. Collectively, these three institutes have trained over 1,200 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.
• Under the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Canada has recruited or retained 80 of the world’s leading AI ethicists and scientists as CIFAR (Canadian Institute For Advanced Research) AI Chairs.
• Through collaboration with partners in France and the U.K., CIFAR has developed research into the societal implications of the use of AI, under CIFAR’s AI & Society Program.
• CIFAR’s Action Plan on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) was approved by CIFAR’s board of directors in April 2020. The document highlights measures to be used to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion throughout the organization.
• In September 2019, CIFAR setup the AI for Health (AI4H) Task Force to chart out a road map on how AI could be used in Canada’s health care system.
• On March 23, 2020, CIFAR established the “AI and COVID-19 Catalysts Grants”. Through this initiative, CIFAR is supporting 14 AI research projects that address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chile

• Chile is yet to develop its national AI strategy policy document. However, it has continued to conduct various activities aimed at producing the document. Below are some developments:
• On August 20, 2020, there was a workshop on the scope of AI technology uses as part of efforts at developing Chile’s National AI Policy.
• On August 19, 2020, a participatory meeting on the scope of use of AI technology was held in the regions of Los Rios, La Araucania, and Los Lagos as part of initiatives geared at developing Chile’s National AI Policy.
• On July 14, 2020, Chile’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation extended period for the citizen participation process to August 30, 2020. This process is held through digital work groups where individuals and groups offer their views on the development of the country’s National Policy on AI.
• On June 22, 2020, the Ministry of Science held a webinar on “AI and Gender” as part of efforts at developing the National Policy on Artificial Intelligence.

China

•  Nothing changed.

Colombia

•  Nothing changed.

Czech Republic

•  Nothing changed.

Denmark

• On May 26, 2020, the Danish Parliament passed an amendment to the Danish Financial Statements Act. Under this amendment, large listed companies must include their policy on data ethics and algorithm within their management report. If such companies do not include these policies, they must explain why they have neglected to do so. This law came into force on July 1, 2020, and will effective for the financial year that begins on January 1, 2021, or later. 

Estonia

•  Nothing changed.

Finland

•  Nothing changed. 

National AI Strategies Highlights

France

•  Nothing changed.

Germany

•  Nothing changed.

Hungary

• On September 9, 2020, Hungary’s Minister of Innovation and Technology — László Palkovics, officially unveiled Hungary’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2020-2030. The strategy’s foundation pillars are:
• Setting the data economy in motion
• Research, development and innovation
• Incentivisin uptake
• Education, competence, development, and societal preparedness
• Infrastructure development
• Regulatory and ethical framework.

India

•  Nothing changed.

Indonesia

• On August 10, 2020, the Indonesia National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence was officially launched. The document explores measures that will be taken by the country to develop AI technologies for the period 2020 to 2045. The document has four key areas of focus:
• Ethics and policy
• Talent development
• Infrastructure and data
• Industrial research and innovation

Ireland

•  Nothing changed. The country's national AI policy was expected to be rolled out by the first quarter of 2020.

Israel

•  Nothing changed. Israel's national AI policy is still being developed.

Italy

• On July 2, 2020, Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development announced the release of the Italian Strategy for Artificial Intelligence report. This document was prepared by the group of experts who were appointed by MiSE (Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico). These experts also incorporated the views of the public.
• The Italian government has earmarked €1 billion in public investments for the implementation of the country’s AI strategy by the end of 2025. It is expected that this investment will elicit private investments of the same amount.

Japan

• In March 2019, the Japanese government assembled the “Social Principles of Human-Centric A.I.” This led to the launch of the country’s AI Strategy 2019 document by the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council Decision. This strategy builds on the country's 2017 Artificial Intelligence Technology Strategy.
• Japan’s AI Strategy 2019 provides policy direction for AI developments at both the national and local government levels. The document has three basic principles:
• Dignity — Promoting human dignity within the society.
• Diversity and Inclusion — Developing a “society in which people with diverse backgrounds can pursue their own well-being."
• Sustainability — Promoting a sustainable society.

Kenya

• On July 25, 2019, Kenya’s Distributed Ledger and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce presented its recommendations on how the country can develop a roadmap that will ensure the utilization of emerging technologies (like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and distributed ledgers) in the next 15 years.

Lithuania

•  Nothing changed.

Luxembourg

•  Nothing changed.

Malaysia

• Nothing changed. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is yet to develop the country's National AI Strategy.

National AI Strategies Highlights

Malta

•  Nothing changed. 

Mexico

•  Nothing changed.

Netherlands

• On October 8, 2019, the Dutch government published its Strategic Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence. This plan has three main tracks:
• Capitalizing on societal and economic opportunities
• Creating the right conditions
• Strengthening the foundations
• The Dutch government estimates that it will allocate an annual budget of €45 million for AI innovation and research.

New Zealand

•  Nothing changed.

Norway

•  Nothing changed.

Pakistan

•  Nothing changed.

Philippines

•  Nothing changed. 

Poland

• Poland is yet to develop its AI policy. However, the "Policy for the development of artificial intelligence in Poland" was adopted by the Committee of the Council of Ministers for Digitization (KRMC) on September 14, 2020. The document has six main areas: 

• AI and society
• AI and innovative companies
• AI and science
• AI and education
• AI and international cooperation
• AI and the public sector

Portugal

•  Nothing changed.

Qatar

• Nothing changed.

Russia

•  Nothing changed.

Saudi Arabia

• On October 21, 2020, the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) officially launched Saudi Arabia’s National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI). This document has six main thematic areas:
• Ambition: Saudi Arabia’s NSDAI is geared at transforming the kingdom into a leading global player in the data and AI space.
• Skills: The NSDAI aims “to transform the current and future Saudi workforce, through education, and upskilling and reskilling that will enable Saudis to utilize the power of data and AI, in public and private sectors.”
• Policy & Regulations: Saudi Arabia will endeavor to develop a globally recognized regulatory framework that will stimulate the growth of data-driven businesses.
• Investment: The NSDAI will seek “to attract and incentivize local and foreign investors and companies to encourage investment in qualified opportunities within Saudi Arabia.”
• Research & Innovation: Saudi Arabia will create and foster core research and innovation institutions in AI and data which will ensure the Kingdom becomes a global leader in the “development and commercialization of new technologies.
• Ecosystem: The NSDAI will seek to “stimulate data & AI adoption through the creation of a collaborative and forward-thinking ecosystem.”
• The NSDAI seeks to “train 20,000 specialists and experts, have 300 active startups and attract $20 billion in national and foreign investments in data and AI" by 2030.

Singapore

• On November 25, 2019, the Singaporean government launched the country’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy document. This document “spells out our [Singapore’s] plans to deepen our use of AI technologies to transform our economy, going beyond just adopting technology, to fundamentally rethinking business models and making deep changes to reap productivity gains and create new areas of growth. “
• Singapore’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy document spells out the country’s vision of becoming a leader in the development and deployment of “scalable, impactful AI solutions, in key sectors of high value and relevance” to the country’s citizens and businesses by the year 2030.
• This strategy has to two main components, namely; National AI projects and AI ecosystem enablers.
• Singapore’s National AI Strategy includes development the of AI technologies in five national AI projects that involve the following areas: Smart cities and estates, safety and security, transport and logistics, healthcare, and education.
• Singapore’s National AI Strategy outlines five AI ecosystem enablers which are believed to “drive AI innovation and adoption across” the country’s economy. These enablers are triple helix partnership, international collaboration, progressive and trusted environment, AI talent and education, and data architecture.

National AI Strategies Highlights

South Africa

• On October 23, 2020, South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies — Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, published the Gazette recommendations of the Presidential Commission on the 4th Industrial Revolution (PC4IR). This report provided insights on how the South African government can develop a road map towards the development of advanced technologies that include artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), robotics and distributed ledgers among others.

South Korea

• On December 17, 2019, the Korean government launched the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence document. The vision set out in this document is “Towards AI World Leader beyond IT.” Through this vision the country “aims to achieve digital competitiveness, create huge economic effect of AI, and improve quality of life for people by 2030.”
• South Korea’s National Strategy for AI encompasses “100 government-wide action tasks under 9 strategies in three areas of AI”.
• The nine strategies include: AI infrastructure enhancement, nurturing global AI start-ups, drastic regulatory innovation and revision of laws, securing competitiveness in AI technology, building the best-performing digital government, diffusing AI technology across all industry areas, nurturing world’s best AI talent and educating people, preventing dysfunction and establishing AI ethics, and establishing an inclusive job safety network.
• The three major areas of AI focus are utilization, ecosystem and people-centered.

Spain

•  Nothing changed.

Sweden

•  Nothing changed.

Switzerland

• Nothing changed. The country has not yet developed its national AI strategy.

Thailand

•  Nothing changed.

Tunisia

•  Nothing changed.

United Arab Emirates

•  Nothing changed.

United Kingdom

•  Nothing changed.

United States of America

•  Nothing changed.

Vietnam

•  Nothing changed.