Report on Public Policy Tools in Government AI Strategies Released
The development and use of artificial intelligence is a central issue in many countries. Steve Jacob, professor, Department of Political Science and Research Chair in Public Administration in the Digital Age at Université Laval, and Justin Lawarée, public affairs advisor at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology (OBVIA), analyzed the content of government strategies on AI from an international perspective. Nearly 500 public measures were identified in the government strategies of Canada, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The categories of public measures most represented in the 28 strategies analyzed are those concerning the development of organizational capabilities as well as those mobilizing economic means to develop AI. The importance of economic measures can be explained by the importance of government strategies focused on industrial applications and the need for talent in this field of activity.
The ethical dimension of AI development is present in some of the analyzed papers. However, given the importance of the societal and ethical impacts of AI and digital technologies, ethical issues are not systematically highlighted in the government strategies studied.
