Confirms the governance model of the National Artificial Intelligence Center

At the meeting of the thematic committee on digital transformation and governance modernization, industry ministers and representatives from ministries agreed to support the vision of the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM) regarding the establishment of the National Artificial Intelligence Center, the conditions of the Artificial Intelligence Act, and the course of its implementation.

The center is being created as a central platform for targeted collaboration between academia, public institutions, and entrepreneurs.

Already next year

The Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development, Inga Bērziņa, stated that all involved parties are in agreement on what the center should look like and what its operational tasks are.

“We will move forward rapidly so that the National Artificial Intelligence Center in Latvia can start its operations by January 2025,” said the minister.

The main task of the center will be to develop competencies and solutions for the use of Artificial Intelligence in national security and economic growth. The center will be created through collaboration between universities, businesses, and public administration. There is also potential for Latvia’s Artificial Intelligence Center to collaborate with similar centers in the Nordic region and Germany, with initial exchanges of opinions already taking place in the format of the Nordic digital ministers and communication with Germany’s digital minister.

The establishment of the center will be overseen by the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development and the State Digital Development Agency. This year, an informational report on the establishment and operational support of the National Artificial Intelligence Center is planned to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers.

Main task – innovative products and services

The main task of the National Artificial Intelligence Center will be the development and implementation of innovative products and services in industries, by carrying out research and pilot projects in areas such as the automation of public administration processes, promotion of the reliability of the information space, as well as national security and defense.

There are already several companies in Latvia successfully developing innovative Artificial Intelligence solutions, while our universities have the capacity to advance practical research in this field, and public administration is motivated to review outdated regulations to ensure they do not hinder the implementation of reliable Artificial Intelligence innovations.

By combining the involvement of businesses, research institutions, and public administration, the preconditions for targeted and rapid utilization of Artificial Intelligence opportunities for growth will be created. At the same time, competencies will be strengthened, and support will be provided for the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Act, which sets the conditions for the implementation of high-risk and prohibited Artificial Intelligence solutions.

Various types of funding will be attracted

VARAM, in collaboration with other ministries, continues to work on the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Center and the identification of funding. Structural fund resources and private capital will be attracted for the center’s funding, while ministers recognized that to ensure the sustainability of the center, permanent budget funding would also be necessary for its operations.

Partially, the state budget could be attracted by delegating certain state functions in the field of Artificial Intelligence to the center. In the committee, ministers agreed to promptly identify possible functions and tasks that would be appropriate to delegate to such a center.

Will implement projects worth millions

From the Ministry of Economics, it was suggested that the state could establish an association with the delegation of certain state institutions’ functions for the implementation of the Latvian Artificial Intelligence Center project. 

It is planned that in the first five years, the center could attract €500 million in project investments developed at the center.

In cooperation with global-scale companies, five international projects could be implemented during this time period, two to three Artificial Intelligence-based solutions could be introduced annually in public administration, and the level of innovation in the country could be increased. The use of Artificial Intelligence for the implementation of public functions will also help to reduce the number of employees in public administration.

The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, has also emphasized the importance of not delaying the establishment of the National Artificial Intelligence Center in Latvia. In his view, this is especially important for the development of science and research, as well as for deepening expertise in various practical areas of life, such as the defense industry. 

“I expect that the government will actively work on the establishment of such a center in cooperation with representatives of the National Competitiveness Commission, as the establishment of the National Artificial Intelligence Center is also a matter of our country’s competitiveness in the world now and in the near future,” stated President E. Rinkēvičs. 

Source: Labs of Latvia