The government of Malta has announced the formation of a task force in order to develop a national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. This resolution was reportedly arrived at during the Malta blockchain summit held on the first of November. This new initiative by the government of Malta was announced by Silvio Schembri, the junior minister of financial services, digital economy, and innovation in the country. The new Maltese government initiative dubbed “Malta.ai” will be a major stepping stone as the country aims to become a top AI nation according to Silvio.
Silvio went to reveal that country would work hard to create a friendly and suitable environment for AI, just like it did for the blockchain. His statement read; “After successfully positioning Malta as the ‘Blockchain Island,’ by being the first in the world to regulate DLT (distributed ledger technology) products and services, we now would like to position Malta amongst the top 10 countries in the world with an artificial intelligence policy.” The government of Malta has also taken the proactive step of launching a website dedicated to its national AI strategy. An official statement at the Malta blockchain summit indicated that all AI projects in the country would be monitored by the Malta digital innovation authority which also monitors distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the country.
The objectives of the Maltese government with regards to AI as revealed in the summit are; “to dialogue with stakeholders, to build awareness of the key topics and issues that will inform a national AI Framework, consult on a policy that considers for ethically aligned, transparent and socially responsible AI, identify regulatory and fiscal measures to strengthen Malta’s appeal as a hub for foreign investment in this sector and identify the underlying skill base and infrastructure needed to support AI.”
Malta will enter into a partnership with Singularity NET, a well-known decentralized marketplace for AI services, in a pilot effort to explore citizenship tests for robots in a bid to draft new regulations for AI. If all these efforts are fruitful then Malta will add to its already good name as a progressive, proactive and favorable place for blockchain and crypto related projects. February of this year saw the government announce its intentions to make the country a DLT leader. This was followed by the passing of three bills in the country’s parliament in July. The bills set a clear regulatory framework and legal framework for the blockchain and crypto related startups.
