2020 Passing The Deadline for National AI Strategies in Europe
Strategies in Europe on Artificial Intelligence Had a Soft Deadline of Mid-2019, so Which Countries Have Not Launched?
Passing Beyond the Mid-2019 Goal Who Are the Left or Have Not Adhered to the Coordinated Plan on the Development of AI?
At the end of 2018 the Coordinated Plan on the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence Made in Europe was released, one of the clear recommendations in this was to follow up the work on national AI strategies:
By mid-2019 all Member States are encouraged to put in place — and share with other Member States and the Commission — national AI strategies or programmes or add AI dimensions in other relevant strategies and programmes outlining investment levels and implementation measures, taking into account this coordinated plan. The exact form, contents and governance of the national AI strategies will be up to each Member State to decide based on national characteristics.
In the conclusions on the coordinated plan on artificial intelligence delivered to the council in February 2019 it was further emphasised in point number 14:
[THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION] ENCOURAGES Member States to put in place, by mid-2019, national Artificial Intelligence strategies or programmes, or to include Artificial Intelligence dimensions in other relevant strategies and programmes, by outlining envisaged investments and implementation measures; STRONGLY ENCOURAGES all economic actors to step up investments in Artificial Intelligence.
Thus this being a soft deadline it can be said to be possible to circumvent, yet the clear message is to increase investments into AI.
An article by Peter Teffer in EUobserver claimed that at least eight states had missed their deadline. At the time this included Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and the Netherlands.
I will not be pragmatic and go only for clearly stated national strategies.
So who has national strategies so far and what countries do not?
List created the 6th of January 2020.
- Austria: yes.
- Belgium: yes.
- Bulgaria: no.
- Croatia: no.
- Republic of Cyprus: no.
- Czech Republic: yes.
- Denmark: yes.
- Estonia: yes.
- Finland: yes.
- France: yes.
- Germany: yes.
- Greece: no.
- Hungary: no.
- Ireland: no (launch early 2020).
- Italy: yes (draft released).
- Latvia: no.
- Lithuania: yes.
- Luxembourg: yes.
- Malta: yes.
- Netherlands: yes.
- Norway (not an EU member, but participating): No (to be released the 14th of January 2020)
- Poland: yes (as far as I can tell).
- Portugal: yes.
- Romania: no.
- Slovakia: no.
- Slovenia: no.
- Spain: no (yes, on its way).
- Sweden: yes.
- Switzerland (not an EU member, but participating): no.
This is of course a rough overview.
However it is my hope that this list may help somewhat to navigate.
Perhaps it will help me to notice what I am missing or whether I am making a mistake. Do contact me if that is the case.
That being said it is an impressive policy move to mobilise most of the regions and nations in Europe on such a massive scale for a specific field of research.
This is #500daysofAI and you are reading article 215. I am writing one new article about or related to artificial intelligence every day for 500 days. My current focus for 100 days 200–300 is national and international strategies for artificial intelligence.
