Publications & Documents

In 2019, the OECD Council adopted the Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence (the 'OECD AI Principles'). These include five values-based principles and five recommendations for OECD countries and adhering partner economies to promote responsible and trustworthy AI policies. This report takes stock of initiatives launched by countries worldwide to implement the OECD AI Principles which were reported to the OECD.AI Policy Observatory as of May 2023. It provides an overview of national AI strategies, including their oversight and monitoring bodies, expert advisory groups, as well as their monitoring and evaluation frameworks. It also discusses the various regulatory approaches that countries are adopting to ensure AI trustworthiness, such as ethics frameworks, AI-specific regulations, and regulatory sandboxes. Additionally, the report offers policy examples for each of the ten OECD AI Principles to facilitate cross-learning among policymakers.

This report analyses the demand for positions that require skills needed to develop or work with AI systems across 14 OECD countries between 2019 and 2022. It finds that, despite rapid growth in the demand for AI skills, AI-related online vacancies comprised less than 1% of all job postings and were predominantly found in sectors such as ICT and Professional Services. Skills related to Machine Learning were the most sought after. The US-focused part of the study reveals a consistent demand for socio-emotional, foundational, and technical skills across all AI employers. However, leading firms – those who posted the most AI jobs – exhibited a higher demand for AI professionals combining technical expertise with leadership, innovation, and problem-solving skills, underscoring the importance of these competencies in the AI field.

This report explores the current state of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption and usage in OECD countries among businesses, households, and individuals. It analyzes IoT trends based on semiconductors, patents, venture capital investments, and firms. Additionally, it includes two case studies that examine the implementation of IoT in manufacturing and healthcare.

As societies become increasingly digital, the importance of cyber security has grown significantly for individuals, companies, and nations. The rising number of cyber attacks surpasses the existing defense capabilities, partly due to a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals. This report delves into the analysis of the demand for cyber security experts in Latin America, using information from online job postings in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. The analysis investigates recent trends in job demand for various cyber security roles, the geographical distribution of cyber security job postings, and the evolving skill requirements in this field. Additionally, the report focuses on the supply side by examining the landscape of cyber security education and training programmes in Colombia. It explores the different types of programmes offered in vocational and higher education, the characteristics of learners enrolled in these programmes, and their outcomes. Lastly, the report examines policies and initiatives implemented in Colombia to enhance the accessibility and relevance of cyber security education and training programmes. This report is part of a broader initiative that examines the evolution of policies and experiences in the cyber security profession around the world.

This report assesses the continued relevance of the OECD Recommendation on Cross-Border Co-operation in the Enforcement of Laws Protecting Privacy, originally adopted in 2007. It examines whether the Recommendation has kept pace with the evolving needs of Privacy Enforcement Authorities (PEAs) in light of significant technological and legal changes over the past 15 years. While the principles underlying the Recommendation are seen to remain solid, the report highlights several gaps and challenges for cross-border enforcement co-operation. It concludes that the OECD could either provide additional guidance to support the implementation of the Recommendation or consider revising it to better address current challenges.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) creates new content in response to prompts, offering transformative potential across multiple sectors such as education, entertainment, healthcare and scientific research. However, these technologies also pose critical societal and policy challenges that policy makers must confront: potential shifts in labour markets, copyright uncertainties, and risk associated with the perpetuation of societal biases and the potential for misuse in the creation of disinformation and manipulated content. Consequences could extend to the spreading of mis- and disinformation, perpetuation of discrimination, distortion of public discourse and markets, and the incitement of violence. Governments recognise the transformative impact of generative AI and are actively working to address these challenges. This paper aims to inform these policy considerations and support decision makers in addressing them.

The digital security of communication networks is crucial to the functioning of our societies. Four trends are shaping networks, raising digital security implications: i) the increasing criticality of communication networks, ii) increased virtualisation of networks and use of cloud services, iii) a shift towards more openness in networks and iv) the role of artificial intelligence in networks. These trends bring benefits and challenges to digital security. While digital security ultimately depends on the decisions made by private actors (e.g. network operators and their suppliers), the report underlines the role governments can play to enhance the digital security of communication networks. It outlines key policy objectives and actions governments can take to incentivise the adoption of best practices and support stakeholders to reach an optimal level of digital security, ranging from light-touch to more interventionist approaches.

Half a century after independence, Bangladesh has achieved impressive progress. The country has transformed from one of the poorest nations into a global textile manufacturing hub capable of meeting its medical needs almost entirely through domestic pharmaceutical production. The country will graduate from the least developed country (LDC) category in 2026 and aspires to be a high-income nation through industrialisation by 2041. Meeting this challenge requires accelerating economic transformation through diversification and innovation. This Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR), implemented with the support and collaboration of the European Union (EU), and in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), identifies concrete options for supporting Bangladesh’s development. It calls for leveraging digitalisation to address persistent fragilities and it advocates for a new pact based on shared responsibilities between the national government, the private sector and international partners to shift to a new development phase and ensure sustainable, smooth and irreversible graduation.

This report examines Alberta's labour market trends, focusing on the impact of economic downturns, the COVID-19 crisis, and digital transformation. This study uses real-time labour market data, drawn from online job postings, to offer a granular perspective on demand dynamics across various sectors and occupations. The analysis in the report identifies emerging labour shortages in Alberta due to mega-trends such as digitalisation, AI adoption, automation, and population ageing and discusses key challenges such as youth unemployment and sector-specific labour shortages. The analysis in this report provides insights for policy makers, suggesting a need to support growing sectors, enhance digital skills development, address demand for health workers, and improve youth job access.