Independent Review of AI in Scotland

AI has evolved exponentially since the Strategy was published in 2021. Anticipating this, the Strategy included a commitment to keep up-to-date with developments and to adapt as needs be. 

The launch of ChatGPT and the advent of other increasingly powerful AI tools, particularly ‘generative AI’, catalysed increasing public interest in and discussion of the opportunities and challenges AI presents, and how these can be harnessed and addressed respectively. 

In light of this, Summer 2023 saw the Scottish Government commission the Scottish AI Alliance’s Leadership Group to conduct an independent review into what Scotland needs to know to maximise the benefits of AI while controlling its risks. 

Leadership Group members formed a small project group, supported by Scottish Government officials, which evaluated a wealth of evidence to gain insights and to help shape advice on how to move forward. 

Emerging recommendations were set out in the initial review report, Advancing AI for Scotland, on which the Alliance conducted a call for views from 26 January to 29 February 2024. 

The call received 52 responses from a diverse range of individuals and organisations based in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK, and overseas. The majority were broadly supportive of the proposed actions, with many also sharing helpful, interesting and novel observations and suggestions. 

The Alliance welcomed this valuable feedback and would like to thank all those who responded to the call, or otherwise contributed to the review. The report was subsequently presented for consideration to the Scottish Government, whose formal response to the review is expected to be shared in spring 2024. 

The Alliance looks forward to working with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders to build on the insights and recommendations arising from the review.