OECD issues report on state of implementation of AI principles

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued the first report on the state of implementation of the policy recommendations to governments included in the Principles on Artificial Intelligence (AI) adopted in May 2019. The report notes that the development of national policies and strategies focusing on AI is a relatively new phenomenon and that countries are at different stages of developing and implementing such initiatives. Countries are using public and inclusive dialogue for trustworthy AI, and that effective AI policy implementation needs to be coordinated across government. AI governance models range from assigning oversight to an existing ministry or department to creating new bodies dedicated to AI. To invest in AI research and development (R&D), countries are funding national AI-related research institutes and projects through grants; consolidating AI research networks and collaborative platforms; prioritising AI investments in specific economic sectors; pursuing AI-related mission-oriented innovation policies; and procuring AI systems for the public sector. Countries are providing innovative AI start-ups and SMEs with controlled environments for experimentation and testing of AI systems to improve the conditions for them to strive, scale up, and remove market barriers to AI adoption by businesses. The use of AI systems whose recommendations are acted upon automatically without human involvement in the public sector has come under increased scrutiny. To ensure the development and deployment of trustworthy AI, governments are exploring a variety of regulatory approaches. To empower people with the skills for AI and prepare for a fair labour market transition, countries are deploying various policy initiatives such as formal education programmes on AI-related fields, vocational training and lifelong learning on AI-related programmes, and financial and non-financial support to retrain and attract top AI talent. Many countries are engaged in international co-operation for AI within the framework of fora such as the Council of Europe, the European Union, G7, G20, and the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI).