Czech Republic - National Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Czech Republic

The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Czech Republic was adopted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in May 2019. The aim of the  Strategy is to improve national economic growth and competitiveness in AI. It is part of the implementation of the Innovation Strategy of the Czech Republic 2019–2030 and its main objective to make the Czech Republic an innovation leader.

The main objectives defined in the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy are:

• establishing a responsible and trusted AI ecosystem;
• promoting the digitalization of enterprises, especially SMEs;
• ensuring equitable opportunities and benefits in AI to boost the economic development of society.

At EU level, the main objective is to engage in increasing Europe’s global competitiveness through the use of AI. The strategy is therefore directly linked to the initiatives of the European Commission, especially the Coordinated Plan for Artificial Intelligence, and the division into seven chapters corresponds directly to the areas the Coordinated Plan has defined.

The Strategy is divided into seven chapters, according to the priority areas of development of artificial intelligence and their impacts:

• promotion and concentration of science, research and development;
• financing research and development, investment support and the development of the AI ecosystem in the Czech Republic;
• AI in industry, services and public administration, economic growth, growth of wages and overall competitiveness of the Czech Republic;
• human capital and the education system together with lifelong learning;
• measures to address the impacts of the AI on the labour market and the social system;
• legal and societal aspects of AI, ethical rules, consumer protection and security issues;
• international cooperation.

Each of them contains a summary of the current situation. These result in specific objectives in the short, medium and long term and tools to achieve them. The objectives are timed mainly in relation to the EU financial framework, they will be linked to the Implementation Plans of the Digital Economy and Society strategy and formulated as specific measures that can be implemented within a given time frame. 

Priority areas of the digital competencies development: 

• development of lifelong learning and re-skilling, especially in professions endangered by automation;
• transformation of the education system with regard to future labour market requirements;
• the emergence of new university and doctoral degree programmes focusing on AI.

Education, training, and re-skilling, both technical and humanitarian, play a crucial role in targeting the skills needed in the next decade. The strategy emphasizes the importance of focusing on skills development that will not be replaced by automation and, on the contrary, developing unique skills that can be used in high-value-added positions. The long-term objectives regarding skills development have been stated as follows:

• Completing the transformation of education, including implementing fully functional AI teaching in English in the most relevant schools and transforming the content and form of teaching with regard to the ongoing changes in the labor market and society.
• Ensuring a flexible curriculum update system that focuses on the development of digital competencies and IT thinking among children and pupils, including preparing teachers and headmasters for these situations.
• Leveraging the potential of AI at all stages and aspects of education, including fully operational management of universities and teaching methods at all levels of schools, using the principles of managing complex systems with the help of AI.