Track 1: Establish collective leadership - The Scottish AI Alliance
Objectives
We believe success can be best achieved through collective leadership and the involvement of the people and organisations in our AI ecosystem. We will realise our vision for AI by creating:
Inspirational leadership that provides clear direction to accelerate progress
An environment where ideas are shared to stimulate innovation across sectors
Opportunities for everyone to learn from and contribute to the growth of AI
Strong connections allowing Scotland to contribute to the global development of AI
This will be achieved under the leadership of the Scottish AI Alliance, an open-to-all stakeholder group with representation from across society. The group will provide a focus for dialogue, collaboration and, above all, action on all things AI in Scotland, allowing businesses, economists, trade unions and our UK and international partners to come together and help to shape our AI future. Above all, we’ll adopt the ‘Scottish Approach’ and create a vehicle for everyone to have their say and be heard – and this includes children. As this is a national strategy, Scottish Ministers will be accountable for its delivery, and report on its progress in an annual State of AI Report.
The Alliance will make sure that we work efficiently across the AI ecosystem to deliver the strategy, aligning our efforts with those of other key initiatives such as Scotland’s Digital Strategy. If it needs a task force to get something done, the Alliance will take the necessary action. It will also be responsible for the continuous development of the Scottish AI Playbook.
The Alliance will welcome all people and organisations to contribute their voice and expertise, and it will facilitate partnership-building to pursue specific opportunities. We will put in place appropriate measures to ensure diversity throughout the Alliance, including its leadership. And we will specifically seek out meaningful participation from groups whose voices are essential but are not always heard, including children.
We will be outward-looking to the UK and the world, building on the Scottish Government’s existing dialogue with UK partners, including the Office for AI and AI Council, and with international partners such as our response to the consultation on the European Commission’s White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: A European approach to excellence and trust.
Key actions
First 100 days
We will establish the Scottish AI Alliance including board members and start building an effective mechanism to ensure civil society’s full participation. We will work with partners to ensure wider strategic alignment complementing the Digital Strategy and Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER).
Year 1
In the first 365 days, we will confirm our priorities and establish Task Forces and Communities of Practice to lead our work in these areas. We will identify the regulatory and financial levers Scotland has to realise the vision, such as funding and procurement and where we need to influence nationally and internationally. Other actions will include:
Develop horizon-scanning capability to identify high growth companies, opportunities and key international benchmarks
Initiate a communications programme to promote the Alliance
Establish a community engagement and participation strategy to encourage non-tech businesses and the people of Scotland to adopt and engage with AI
Publish a State of AI report to review progress at the end of Year 1 (and in subsequent years)
Year 2 and beyond
The Alliance will evolve. We will review our performance regularly and adapt to create sustainable growth and continued innovation.
The proposed structure of the Scottish AI Alliance
Through the Scottish AI Alliance, we will build partnerships to achieve the vision set out in this strategy. We propose that the Alliance consists of four Circles: Leadership, Delivery, Community and Support. These are explained below:
Leadership Circle
The Leadership Circle will oversee:
all work required to deliver the Strategy, to be taken forward by the Delivery Circle
the communication and engagement programme, managed by a partnership of the Delivery and Community Circles
the development of the Scottish AI Playbook, working in conjunction with the Delivery and Community Circles.
Members will comprise senior figures from Scotland’s AI community will be recruited through an open call and related industries, with representation from the broader community. The Chair of the Alliance will be appointed by the Scottish Government. The Leadership Circle will report directly to Ministers, who will advise the Scottish Parliament on the delivery of the Strategy.
Delivery Circle
The Delivery Circle will:
take forward programmes of work to deliver the Strategy, ensuring it is aligned with other strategic initiatives
support the Leadership Circle to develop the Scottish AI Playbook
plan and implement a communications and engagement programme in partnership with the Community Circle
Key figures with an interest in contributing actively to achieve our vision, from Scotland’s AI community and from related business sectors will be invited to become members of the Delivery Circle.
Community Circle
The Community Circle will:
in partnership with the Delivery Circle, implement a communications and engagement programme including spaces to discuss the delivery of the AI Strategy and wider issues relating to AI technologies
provide feedback on this work to the Leadership and Delivery Circles
support the Leadership and Delivery Circles to develop the AI Playbook
We will seek membership through an open process from all individuals and groups with an involvement or interest in AI.
Support Circle
The Support Circle will:
provide support functions, including administration, finance and resource management
manage internal and public communication channels, including the website and social media feeds
Members will include the Scottish Government and Data Lab staff.
Terms of Reference
Draft Terms of Reference for the Alliance will be published as part of our open call to join the Leadership Circle. This document is intended to stimulate dialogue on the subject and contribute towards a finalised version which will be published within the first 100 days of the Strategy.