National AI strategies in Europe

On 22 June, EACA participated in the webinar “National AI strategies in Europe: where are we now and what’s next?” organised by the European Commission. The webinar introduced the updated AI Watch “National Strategies on Artificial Intelligence: A European Perspective“ report and the OECD ‘State of Implementation of the OECD AI Principles: Insights from National AI Policies‘ report on national AI policies.

The AI Watch report presents an up-to-date review of the national AI strategies of EU Member States, Norway, and Switzerland.

At present, 20 Member States and Norway have published their national strategies on artificial intelligence. However, seven countries, including Italy, have not yet finalised their national strategy.

The AI Watch report provides an overview of national AI policies from different perspectives: human capital, lab-to-market, networking, regulation, and infrastructure. It also includes a section on AI policies to address the societal challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

 

The OECD report (the Principles) aim to guide governments, organisations, and individuals to design and run AI systems in a way that prioritises peoples’ interests and ensures that designers and operators are held accountable for their functioning. At present, 42 countries (including the 36 OECD members) have signed up for the Principles.

The AI Watch report provides an overview of national AI policies from different perspectives: human capital, lab-to-market, networking, regulation, and infrastructure. It also includes a section on AI policies to address the societal challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

The OECD report (the Principles) aim to guide governments, organisations, and individuals to design and run AI systems in a way that prioritises peoples’ interests and ensures that designers and operators are held accountable for their functioning. At present, 42 countries (including the 36 OECD members) have signed up for the Principles.

The Principles go beyond the OECD’s normal focus on economics and emphasise issues like privacy, individual and worker rights, and the reliability and safety of AI systems. Accordingly, the Principles cover national policies and “principles for the responsible stewardship of trustworthy AI”.

In particular, the Principles include five key recommendations for AI:

  1. Inclusive growth, sustainable development, and well-being.
  2. Human-centred values and fairness.
  3. Transparency and explainability.
  4. Robustness, security, and safety.
  5. Accountability.

In addition to these five key recommendations, the Principles also provide suggestions for national policy priorities, including: Investing in responsible AI research and development; fostering a digital ecosystem for AI; shaping an enabling policy environment for AI; building human capacity and preparing for labour market transformation; and international cooperation for trustworthy AI.