Background
As a consequence of the evolution in the application of Artificial Intelligence in different areas and topics, several strategies and guidelines have been established in the past periods of government for the development and promotion of AI. Countries such as the United States, Finland and France, among others, have developed national strategies for the development of Artificial Intelligence, while, for example, Canada and Italy have focused these strategies on the use of technology to improve public services. A good report on these experiences can be found in the article “An Overview of National AI Strategies” by Tim Dutton .
In line with this trend, in 2018 member countries of Digital 9 (D9), of which Uruguay is a member, developed and agreed on a series of general objectives on the application and use of AI by national governments (see text box). In turn, as of 2019, this group of countries formed a working group to share and generate knowledge on the subject, such as, for example, frameworks for the responsible use of AI and the impact analysis on the development of algorithms and models, among others.
Objectives agreed by the D9:
1. Understand and measure the impact of using AI by developing and sharing tools and approaches
2. Be transparent about how and when we are using AI, starting with a clear user need and public benefit
3. Provide meaningful explanations about AI decision making, while also offering opportunities to review results and challenge these decisions
4. Be as open as we can by sharing source code, training data, and other relevant information, all while protecting personal information, system integration, and national security and defense
5. Provide sufficient training so that government employees developing and using AI solutions have the responsible design, function, and implementation skills needed to make AI-based public services better
At the national level, multiple initiatives and projects in various areas of the State converge with this strategy. As relevant examples, we could mention the work of the Planning Directorate in the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP in Spanish), which created a series of prospective jobs, such as the document “Automation and employment in Uruguay” , within the framework of "A national development strategy, Uruguay 2050". In turn, “Transforma Uruguay” (Transform Uruguay) (National System of Productive Transformation and Competitiveness) is about to launch a Roadmap on Data Science and Machine Learning, with the aim of presenting a set of initiatives in this area in strategic sectors. Also in the field of Departmental Governments, it is worth mentioning Montevideo del Mañana (Tomorrow´s Montevideo) , a process that integrates the prospective analysis with citizen participation towards the formulation of the Vision of the Future for Montevideo.
In the area of capacity building, new training options in data science have taken place, such as the Master's Degree in Data Science at the School of Engineering of the University of the Republic or the Program in Data Science of the Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC), as well as other courses and specializations taught in private institutes and universities in Uruguay.
Finally, in recent years, the Public Administration has not been oblivious to this strategy when developing working fields such as interoperability, open data and data management.