Isle of Man to release national AI strategy by end of 2024

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The Isle of Man has announced its intent to publish a national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy before the end of 2024 to guide its pivot toward digitization.

The self-governing British Crown Dependency is planning to release a playbook for AI firms and consumers in the region, according to a BBC report. The task of creating a blueprint lies with the Digital Isle of Man, an expert-led initiative designed to support technology firms seeking to operate within its borders.

The national strategy will focus on innovative ways to deploy AI across key sectors of the economy. Head of the Digital Isle of Man, Lyle Wraxall, disclosed that the end game would be to increase the region’s GDP by 10% before the end of 2030 via the combination of emerging technologies.

Driven by the mantra of “AI-enhanced productivity,” the workplace will receive the bulk of government attention with firms urged to embrace generative AI tools. Despite fears of worker replacement by AI systems, Wraxall hints at guardrails to prevent redundancy, including upskilling employees.

The ambitious plan is expected to provide AI educational initiatives to equip employees with AI skills to remain relevant in the workplace. Furthermore, it appears that the region’s government will roll out AI courses across learning institutions in the British crown dependency.

Wraxall opines that a combination of educational initiatives and integration into key sectors of the economy will fuel a migration of global AI firms to the region.

However, rather than an open embrace, the Isle of Man says it will ensure that only service providers that meet its minimum standards will be allowed to operate in the region. Wraxall says the Island’s government will pursue the rollout of AI regulations in the near future.

As work for the incoming AI strategy is expected to gather steam in the coming months, the Isle of Man is seeking a head of AI to spearhead the design of a national strategy. The Isle of Man has also inked a deal with AI Singapore to collate ideas for establishing an AI strategy.

Leaning on the UK

The Isle of Man may follow the lead of the U.K. regarding policing AI. The U.K., adopting a pro-innovation approach toward embracing the technology, has invested nearly $1 billion on AI research, establishing a task force to lead the country’s foray into AI.

The U.K. is keen on fostering global collaboration to clamp down on AI misuse while flexing its regulatory muscles against monopoly in the sector. In 2023, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed rules to clamp down on monopolies to protect healthy industry competition.

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