The presidents of Catalonia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the Basque Country, Salvador IIla, Juan Manuel Moreno, Fernando Clavijo and Imanol Pradales, respectively, have committed to developing artificial intelligence (AI) in public administration to improve services and relations with the public, but have warned of the need to put controls in place regarding its use.
The four regional representatives attended the launch of the Future Government Centre forum in Bilbao, an initiative organised by NTT Data, designed to provide a platform for analysis, innovation and collaboration in public administration.
The photograph of the four presidents, representing different political persuasions, is «a picture of political moderation», said the Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales (PNV), at the start of his speech.
Artificial intelligence: Pradales calls for digital self-governance
Pradales has advocated for ‚digital self-governance‘, whereby the government retains control over data and services, thereby reducing dependence on technologies that are not under public control.
«AI must serve people», and to achieve this, we need «an ethical and humanist vision», he said.
The Lehendakari highlighted the potential and the capacity for process improvement that technology offers, but warned of the risks of «manipulation and social unrest» that it entails, «as we are seeing at the moment in France, Italy…», in reference to the recent disturbances.
Catalonia is investing 1 billion euros in AI
The President of Catalonia, Salvador Illa (PSC), for his part, has expressed support for technology, particularly AI, whilst emphasising the need for «human oversight and governance to ensure that it serves the public interest».
«This must be guided by a system of governance» that serves the public rather than the interests «of businesses», according to Illa, who explained that his government has approved an AI strategy, to which it has allocated 1,000 million euros in funding up to 2030.
Among other measures, the aim is to drastically reduce repetitive tasks in order to cut waiting lists for care services in Catalonia, he emphasised.
Clavijo and Moreno aim to dispel mistrust of AI
For their part, Fernando Clavijo (Coalición Canaria) and Juan Manuel Moreno (PP) agreed on the need to overcome the mistrust that artificial intelligence generates amongst the public and also amongst civil servants, who fear it may lead to job losses.
Both have cited examples where new technological developments are already benefiting the public and improving the efficiency of public services.
The President of Andalusia has recognised the need to focus efforts on bringing digital development to the rural areas of his region, particularly those with the greatest coverage problems, so that people living in more scattered communities can enjoy the same opportunities.
The government hopes to increase the proportion of the population with basic digital skills from 60 per cent to 80 per cent during this parliamentary term.
The Canary Islands significantly reduce the processing time for care allowances
Clavijo explained that the Canary Islands have centralised all administrative data and gave examples of how the use of this information has benefited the public, such as reducing the processing time for dependency benefits from an average of 800 days to 200 days, thanks to the introduction of automation, geolocation and artificial intelligence.
The launch event for the ‚Future Government Centre‘ also featured a speech by its president, Andoni Ortuzar, who emphasised the need for «natural intelligence to govern artificial intelligence» and expressed his confidence that the dialogue between the public and private sectors would help to ensure this happens.
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