Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming every aspect of our lives. It influences how we work and play. It promises to help solve global challenges like climate change and access to quality medical care. With these enormous benefits come real challenges for governments and citizens alike.
Learning algorithms already greet us on our digital devices, influence our purchases, govern our news feeds, and will soon drive our cars. What sort of policy and institutional frameworks should guide AI design and use, as autonomous and self-taught machines become part of our everyday lives?
And as it permeates economies and societies, how can we ensure that AI benefits society as a whole?
Such questions are becoming increasingly important to address and we need the global co-operation of all stakeholders.
Our vision
The OECD supports governments through policy analysis, dialogue and engagement and identification of best practices. We are putting significant efforts into work on mapping the economic and social impacts of AI technologies and applications and their policy implications. This includes improving the measurement of AI and its impacts, as well as shedding light on important policy issues such as labour market developments and skills for the digital age, privacy, accountability of AI-powered decisions, and the responsibility, security and safety questions that AI generates.
We have recently established an expert group on AI in society and in 2019 we are also planning to launch a policy observatory to ensure the beneficial use of AI.
Recent publications and policy notes
- Private equity investment in artificial intelligence. This policy note describes important increases in investments in AI start-ups (December 2018)
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning in science and Artificial intelligence and the technologies of the next production revolution, chapters from the OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook (November 2018)
- AI: Intelligent machines, smart policies. Discussions at the October 2017 OECD conference on AI are summarized in this digital economy paper (August 2018)
- Putting faces to the jobs at risk of automation. This policy brief analyses the jobs at risk of becoming redundant due to the automation of low-skilled and repetitive tasks (March 2018)
- Computers and the future of skill demand. This report uses the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) to compare computers’ literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills with those of human workers (October 2017)
- Technology outlook: artificial intelligence and blockchain, in the OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2017 (October 2017)
Our events
- Going Digital Summit, 11-12 March 2019
- Watch the replays of our OECD Forum 2018 sessions that looked at various aspects of AI: The Human-Machine Relationship: Towards Singularity? | Talk on AI: A Double-Edged Sword
- OECD conference on AI: Intelligent machines, smart policies. A landmark event on policy and institutional frameworks for AI (October 2017) | Conference summary
- Joint OECD-Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication of Japan workshop on AI at Internet Governance Forum (December 2017)
- Me, Myself and AI: Idea Factory at 2017 OECD Forum (May 2017)
- OECD Technology Foresight Forum on AI (November 2016)
Opinion pieces
- AI and digitalisation for workforce training and assistance by Gregorio Ameyugo (December 2018)
- Smart policies for harnessing AI by Wonki Min, Chair of OECD Digital Economy Policy Committee (September 2018)
- Evolution or revolution? The future of regulation and liability for artificial intelligence by Rod Freeman (April 2018)
- Better, Faster, Smarter? The automation of science by Ross King (March 2018)
- Shaping human-centered artificial intelligence by David A. Heiner and M-H. Carolyn Nguyen (February 2018)
- Ethical artificial intelligence – 10 essential ingredients by Christina J. Colclough (January 2018)
- Artificial intelligence and digital reality: Do we need a CERN for AI? by Philipp Slusallek (January 2018)
- Artificial intelligence and the right to informational self-determination by Mathias Cellarius (December 2017)
- Creating better humans will always be more important than creating smarter machines by Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion (November 2017)
- Artificial intelligence: why a global dialogue is critical by Douglas Frantz (October 2017)