Dutch State Secretary Mona Keijzer (EZK) has sent its Strategic Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Parliament on behalf of the government. The plan details over 100 concrete actions, such as intensive cooperation with industry and science and investment of public funds. The government wants to use this to bring the social and economic opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) to the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has a good starting position when it comes to research into and applications of AI. The aim of the government is to keep the Dutch economy globally competitive by stimulating AI so that people and companies can trust AI will be used with care.
Doubling public-private investments for AI
In 2019, the government invested EUR 64 million in AI. The report expresses the ambition to double that public investment. The aim is for the technology to get further developed, together with companies and knowledge institutions, into concrete applications. About 65 parties, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs, are currently working together on this in the Dutch AI Coalition.
Extra public resources can come from, for example, the Knowledge and Innovation Agendas and the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant 2020-2023. These will be launched this fall for missions and key technologies including AI. A further EUR 7.5 billion is available for AI from Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes.
Human contact and risks
People and their rights are the starting and central points in the government strategy. Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongren noted that human contact between the government and its citizen remains necessary. In a collaboration platform, governments will share knowledge and experiences within AI, and coordinate policy on public values and human rights. Other points include eliminating discrimination in the use of AI and investigating whether regulators can do their job sufficiently, as companies and organizations use algorithms more and more often.
The cabinet also sees possible risks, such as a lack of transparency with data analyses and algorithms. This will make it harder for people to counter outcomes, if necessary. These outcomes may also contain errors. Minister Sander Dekker (Legal Protection) has formulated guidelines for the application of algorithms by the government. This should improve transparency around the use of algorithms and minimize the risk of errors.
