An AI-dvent Calendar?

Blog by Gillian Docherty, Chair of the Scottish AI Alliance, and Albert King, Chief Data Officer at the Scottish Government.

An AI-dvent Calendar? Well not quite, but certainly a selection of treats to enjoy!

As 2021 closes, it’s timely to reflect on progress with Scotland’s AI Strategy this past year, what’s on just now, and what there is to look forward to in 2022.

Building foundations

The first quarter of the year saw us beavering away to draft and refine the Strategy, drawing on the rich outputs from all of the development activities. At times it felt like building a sandcastle – no sooner had we produced something that looked formidable and impressive, then a tide of reflection washed it over and saw us have to rebuild it again another way!

But we got there in the end, with the Strategy being published on 22 March. Over 750 people worldwide attended the online launch event, which featured keynotes and panel discussions on AI in and beyond Scotland. You can still watch the event online.

AI in action

After Easter, work began in earnest on actions to be completed in the first 100 days. All completed, these included establishing the Scottish AI Alliance, beginning work on the Scottish AI Playbook and aligning with other strategic initiatives.

The first 100 days were intense, setting the pace for the rest of the race. June saw the Alliance’s Leadership Circle announced, with its first meeting attended by Kate Forbes MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy. You can listen to Gillian Docherty OBE, CEO of The Data Lab and Chair of the Scottish AI Alliance, and Albert King, Chief Data Officer, Scottish Government, reflect on progress within the first 100 days on our podcast channel.

Although it might’ve been the summer holidays, both July and August were busy, In July, we reviewed our first sessions to develop the Playbook, and a workshop saw us exploring how we can continue and deepen our engagement with people across Scotland, discussing what AI means for them and helping to inform taking forward the Strategy.

Growth on all fronts

August saw us welcome several new members to the Alliance’s Support Circle, meaning that we could start to plan work to deliver more of the actions to be achieved within the first year, and promote our progress. Reflecting the Strategy’s vision and principles, August also saw the launch of a new CivTech® Challenge on public trust and agency over the use of AI in the public sector, with particular regards to children and families. You can listen to our podcast with the winners Finnish AI company Saidot here.

September saw the start of a series of podcasts discussing topics including the draft EU AI Regulations and what they might mean for Scotland, the use of AI in helping to address the Climate Emergency, securing and sustaining public trust in AI and the perhaps lesser-known connections between Alan Turing and Scotland. You can enjoy these and other podcasts on Turing’s Triple Helix, our podcast channel.

September also saw the second meeting of the Alliance’s Leadership Circle, which discussed progress to date and next steps, including proposals for developing the Scottish AI Playbook. An open and practical guide to how we do AI in Scotland, this is sketched out in the Strategy, but there’s a lot of detail to fill in. Find out how we’re getting on in our recent blog.

Dialogue and collaboration

As the leaves fell and the nights drew in over October, we were busy engaging with business schools to develop short postgraduate research projects relating to the Strategy. Our programme and project management began to crystallise too – you can read more about this on the strategy website here.

We also started to build on our success to date in acting as a focus for dialogue, collaboration and, above all, action on all things AI in Scotland. This included a series of articles showcasing some of the great work going on across the country, as well as spotlighting opportunities to contribute to discussions on AI and related topics. To help with this we restructured the Strategy website, adding sections on forthcoming events, how you can get involved and resources relating to AI.

Colder, darker but certainly not quieter, November saw continuing work to develop the Scottish AI Playbook and, mindful of the passing of time, starting to turn our attention towards planning work for next year and beyond. Reflecting the Strategy’s ambitions for Scotland to play a bigger role on the global AI stage, November also saw an interview with Albert King in Forbes magazine that explores  Scotland’s potential in AI.

 AI in Scotland and abroad was also discussed at Data Summit, the closing event of this year’s Data Fest, which many members of the Scottish AI Alliance attended. Reflecting the Scottish Government’s commitment to cementing Scotland’s position as a world leader in data and AI the Summit was attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who highlighted that at the core of our approach always has been, and always will be, the need to use data and AI ethically and in a way which ensures and retains public trust.

Open, transparent, and inclusive

December saw us winding down as we headed towards the festive break, although we didn’t slack off too much. Our approach to delivering the Strategy has and always will be open, transparent and collaborative, taking a Team Scotland approach. In this spirit, we were pleased to host a senior leaders podcast discussing how our work aligns with that to deliver the new Digital Strategy and implement the recommendations of the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review.

As we review 2021 one word sums it up: demanding. It has been an exacting but rewarding twelve months in which we’ve made great progress, and laid strong foundations to build on. After another challenging year across Scotland and the world, we hope you have a safe and enjoyable festive season.

And just like an advent calendar there is a big treat to finish with, though it’s not for Christmas but closer to next Easter…

Next steps

Wednesday 30 March 2022 will see us hold the inaugural Scottish AI Summit. This will mark the publication of the first ‘State of AI’ report and first iteration of the Scottish AI Playbook, as well as shining a spotlight on just some of the great work going on in AI in Scotland. You can sign up to join us here - Summit to AIm for?