Montenegro is nowhere behind in terms of regulation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of Science and Technological Development told "News". From another department, which is headed by a minister in technical mandate Biljana Scepanovic, they also said that some of the existing legal solutions can already be applied to that area, such as the Law on Innovation Activities, and that in order to pass a law that would regulate the issue of development and application of artificial intelligence, there must be cooperation between departments.
The European Commission (EC), as recently announced, expects that in the European Union (EU) an agreement on the first law on AI will be reached this year. They also said that the new rules probably won't come into effect until 2025.
In an interview for "Vijesti", they recently pointed out the need to adopt regulations in this area and in Montenegro, among others. Itana Bulatović i Elma Hot Dervić from the Association for Artificial Intelligence (MAIA). At that time, they said that Montenegro could be a test country for services that rely on this technology, but also said that every day in which nothing was done in Montenegro when it comes to the arrangement of that area means several years behind the world. .
First Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gopinath tour, recently said in an interview with the Financial Times that generative artificial intelligence can cause serious disruptions in the labor market and appealed to lawmakers to regulate the use of the new technology as soon as possible.
"Governments, institutions and legislators must be quick in regulating all areas, but also in preparing for possible significant disruptions in the labor market," she said.
Departments of the Government of Montenegro, however, are of the opinion that the state is still on time when it comes to the regulation of that area.
"We believe that Montenegro is not late, since a regulatory framework has not yet been established in Europe when it comes to this area," he told "Vijesta" Dusan Polović, general director of the Directorate for Infrastructure, Information Security, Digitization and e-Services at the Ministry of Justice.
As he said, Montenegro follows proposals for the regulation of that area through participation in the work of the Committee for Artificial Intelligence of the Council of Europe.
"Aware of the accelerated development of science and technology and the profound changes brought about (by designing, developing and using) artificial intelligence systems that have the potential to promote human prosperity, as well as the well-being of the individual and society, as well as other important goals and interests, by advancing progress and innovation "Montenegro, through its participation in the work of the Committee for Artificial Intelligence of the SE, follows the proposals for arranging this area in the best way, but at the same time pays very dedicated attention to the challenges it brings," he said.
As he said, the SE Committee for Artificial Intelligence deals with the protection of human rights using artificial intelligence.
"SE is continuously working on establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework and recognizing challenges for the use of artificial intelligence by institutions. The Ministry of Justice, as well as other relevant bodies in accordance with their competences, carefully monitor current events in the world when it comes to artificial intelligence, and after the established EU framework in this area, they will plan activities in the territory of Montenegro as well", said Polović to "Vijesta ".
They claim that barriers do not exist
The Ministry of Science and Technological Development said that the current Law on Innovation Activities and the by-laws adopted in accordance with that law already enable the performance of innovation activities and the development of innovations related to new technologies.
"In the sense of this law, barriers do not exist, but they can appear in the area of their application, which are defined by some other laws. A possible legal solution in the field of development and application of artificial intelligence in various fields is not within the competence of this ministry, and there must certainly be interdepartmental coordination for its determination, and consequently some provisions of the legal framework for innovation and scientific research activity will be adjusted over time in accordance with needs". Minister Šćepanović's department said.
As they added, it is important to understand that we are talking about a technological change to which several laws need to be adapted: laws under the jurisdiction of the public administration department in the area of providing services to citizens and the economy, the finance department in the area of the functioning of the financial system, the department whose jurisdiction is critical infrastructure, the department of internal affairs and security due to risk assessments of such technologies, the department of education due to its application in education, the department of labor due to the labor market and its application, the department of justice due to the protection of human rights, the department of economic development which should deal with administrative barriers for the development of business based on to the development of artificial intelligence...
"Therefore, the regulatory environment is complex and should certainly be preceded by some kind of targeted action on the topic of artificial intelligence. Montenegro is not late anywhere. Let us remind you that Montenegro is a candidate country for EU membership, and the regulatory framework for artificial intelligence has not yet been adopted at the EU level, so Montenegro will certainly monitor the development of this issue at the EU level, which it will integrate into its legislation when it becomes necessary. time", they told "Vijesti".
They do not know about the application in public administration or remain silent
The department of the minister in the technical mandate of Maraš Dukaj did not respond to the "News" part of the question that refers to possible examples in that Ministry or in jobs under the jurisdiction of that Ministry where artificial intelligence has already found application.
The Ministry of Science and Technological Development said that they are not aware of a similar practice at the state administration level.
"But it is best to consult the competent department for the field of public administration", they told "Vijesti".
Interviewees from MAIA previously stated that there are many examples in the world where AI improves public sector services and facilitates their functioning - from simpler ones where AI predicts traffic jams, to crime prediction in the offline and online world.
They also indicated that huge amounts of data are needed to create services offered by the state or the public sector, and that in the case of Montenegro, the question is which sector in the state apparatus has the data, or in general adequate infrastructure for their collection and storage.
A few days ago, the Center for Civic Education (CGO) published an analysis of the maturity of public administration for topics related to digitization, according to which, on a scale of one to four, the e-index of Montenegro is 2,33. From the conference where the analysis was presented, it was said that digitization should really become a political issue, and that Montenegro needs a new generation of political leaders who will live digitally and who will then have no problem implementing digital public administrations.
Serbia adopted the strategy in 2019, and the Institute was established
In 2019, Serbia adopted the Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence from 2020 to 2025, and subsequently established the Research and Development Institute for AI.
That country, in its Strategy, defined three key areas in which, as they state, AI can significantly contribute to the public good and the provision of better quality and services: public administration, health and medicine, and traffic, road infrastructure and mobility in urban areas.
In the part related to public administration, among other things, the introduction of virtual assistants (so-called chat bots) on national portals is foreseen... In healthcare, AI, for example, significantly improves early diagnostics. In the part related to traffic, they explain, the application of AI significantly improves planning and flow, enables the optimization of traffic signals and traffic management in real time, and taking into account real-time conditions provides a quick response to traffic situations that could not be predicted in advance ...
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