Tallinn, 16 October 2018 – in his opening speech at the Tallinn Digital Summit 2018, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas stressed the importance of a unified international approach for a wider implementation of artificial intelligence and managing of new challenges.
According to Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, the purpose of the Tallinn Digital Summit is to collectively guide an inspired and reasonable technological development of digitally minded countries. “The Estonian experience in building a digital society taught us that it’s not really about technology, but about mindset and culture. Our citizens and entrepreneurs also value trustworthiness and simple, comprehensible solutions. Such principles ensure that our nations will have the necessary flexibility and wisdom to implement technological changes,” the prime minister said.
As Prime Minister Ratas said, we also need to establish a legal framework as well as ethical and technological standards for a practical application of artificial intelligence. “The discussions today help us to verbalise solutions for Estonia and Europe who are preparing an activity programme. In Estonia, for example, we’re writing a law that would rule human-algorithm relationships. We call it the KRATT law,” the prime minister said. Estonia is also developing an artificial intelligence strategy, specifying where and which kratts are most useful in the public and private sectors.
Ratas stated that countries should be more adaptive in applying artificial intelligence. “People’s expectations change faster than governments. We are users, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So we need a user-centric view on governance,” he added.
As a result of a wider implementation of artificial intelligence, countries also have to modernise educational programmes in order to provide workers with the necessary skills for the future.
The prime minister said that we must focus more on free movement of data and transnational trading. “Free-flowing data is the bloodstream of the global economy. Individual privacy is critical here,” Ratas added.
The focus of the digital summit is on global data trading, opportunities for data usage, and challenges for governance, entrepreneurship, and the whole society. Subjects include the possibilities, governing, safety and security of technology based on artificial intelligence, as well as its impact on the labour market. A separate meeting is also held for heads of delegations to discuss artificial intelligence, data, and trading.
The Tallinn Digital Summit 2018 programme: www.digitalsummit.ee/agenda
Photographs: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tallinndigitalsummit/