tech governance round-up #3
Albania has become the first country in the world to have an AI minister. Called Diella, this minister will be responsible for all public procurement. Decisions on tenders will be taken out of ministries and placed in the hands of Diella, who is "the servant of public procurement." The goal is to make Albania a country where public tenders are incorruptible and every public fund that goes through the tender procedure is 100% legible.
Chile is in the process of adopting a bill regulating the use of AI, with the intention of ensuring the ethical, transparent, and sustainable development of AI. The bill aims to establish a proportional, risk-based framework that regulates how AI systems are used, and follows a classification of AI applications on the lines of the EU, into unacceptable, high, limited, and no evident risk. It also bans subliminal manipulation that can harm decision-making. The bill also expands the authority of Chile’s Council for Transparency and requires the mandatory labeling of synthetic content such as AI-generated images or videos.
Malaysia is set to implement its Sovereign AI Cloud policy. The Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will implement this policy under the guidance of the National Security Council, Digital Ministry, and Digital Department in order to ensure the secure management of strategic data, including classified information. The Sovereign AI Cloud is intended to strengthen Malaysia’s data protection framework and ensure the sovereignty of its digital governance and to guard against cyber threats.
Mexico is building a legislative measure to regulate AI in dubbing, animation, and voice-overs, with the goal of preventing unauthorized voice cloning and protect creative professionals. This legislative instrument is being drafted in collaboration with the National Copyright Institute and over 120 creative associations. It is expected to ban synthetic dubbing without consent, impose penalties for misuse, and recognize voice and images as biometric data. The legislation intends to adopt a “Made in Mexico” seal to support national cultural industries.
Pakistan aims to train 1mn citizens in AI by 2030, where 200,000 individuals will be trained annually through the National AI Skill Development Program and certify 10,000 trainers by 2027. The plan intends to offer 20,000 annual internships, 3,000 postgraduate and doctoral scholarships, and AI education in schools and universities. By 2027, all public servants will receive AI training.
South Korea has adopted a suicide prevention policy that monitors suicide counselling hotlines using AI. AI will analyze suicide prevention hotline calls in real time, assess risk levels, and identify high-risk individuals, and will also monitor harmful content online that can incite suicide.
The UAE has begun to regulate the use of AI in national elections, requiring all candidates in the Federal National Council (FNC) elections to declare and register any AI tools used in their campaigns. This is being done to ensure transparency and to prevent voter manipulation. The policy includes plans to draft AI guidelines for journalism and digital content creation in order to contain the spread of misinformation and deepfakes.
