State AI Lab (FR0037)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: France Action Plan 2018-2020
Action Plan Cycle: 2018
Status: Active
Institutions
Lead Institution: Minister of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Prime Minister
Support Institution(s): Artificial intelligence institute, all ministries
Policy Areas
Automated Decision-Making, Capacity Building, Digital Governance, Science & TechnologyIRM Review
IRM Report: France Design Report 2018-2020
Starred: Pending IRM Review
Early Results: Pending IRM Review
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information , Technology
Implementation i
Completion: Pending IRM Review
Description
Set up an open artificial intelligence (AI) lab for the State
Lead institution(s):
Minister of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Prime Minister
Other stakeholders:
Artificial intelligence institute, all ministries
New commitment
OGP principles with which the commitment is associated:
Innovation and technology for openness
Challenges
Promoting the movement of data between the public and private spheres requires the necessary skills for making use of this data. A network of distributed skills is therefore the ultimate aim, beginning with a cluster within a more centralised AI lab. Ideally, there would be a mix of public sector and external skills.
Ambitions
Lay the groundwork for the open AI lab for the State, define the intended organisation of the team and set the trial processes in motion with the ministries.
The intended organisation of the team is as follows:
A core team made up of data science specialists and public reformers;
For each project, dedicated recruitment modelled on the General Interest Entrepreneurs (EIG) competition for attracting specialists, who will be given the opportunity of embarking on pathways of excellence.
The road map in detail
Publication of the ministries' AI and digital road maps Semester 1 or Semester 2 2018
Calls for AI proposals for the attention of government departments Semester 2 2018
Setup of the AI lab Semester 1 2019
IRM Midterm Status Summary
8. Set up an open artificial intelligence (AI) lab for the state
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:
Promoting the movement of data between the public and private spheres requires the necessary skills for making use of this data. A network of distributed skills is therefore the ultimate aim, beginning with a cluster within a more centralised AI lab. Ideally, there would be a mix of public sector and external skills.
Lay the groundwork for the open AI lab for the State, define the intended organisation of the team and set the trial processes in motion with the ministries.
The intended organisation of the team is as follows:
A core team made up of data science specialists and public reformers;
For each project, dedicated recruitment modelled on the General Interest Entrepreneurs (EIG) competition for attracting specialists, who will be given the opportunity of embarking on pathways of excellence. [37]
Milestones
8.1 Publication of the ministries' AI and digital road maps
8.2 Calls for AI proposals for the attention of government departments
8.3 Setup of the AI lab
Start Date: 2018
End Date: 2019
Context and Objectives
Under the guidance of Cédric Villani, mathematician and member of Parliament, the government tried to give more visibility to artificial intelligence (AI) and to integrate it in the work of the public sector. The national action plan mentions the need to acquire sufficient skills to profit from the potential of big data and data circulation. Villani’s 2018 report adds that AI has the potential to better anticipate the transformation of the labor market (using data on skills, unemployment, and needs), to improve health services (developing prediagnostic tools) and public education, to optimize the transportation of people and goods (developing tools for an adapted regulation of traffic), to mitigate climate change (helping consumers understand and limit their use of energy), and to strengthen national defense, especially in the context of new threats. [38] In 2018, internal knowledge about AI was limited and unequally distributed among government agencies. [39]
A team of data scientists within Etalab work across the government. In addition, small Etalab teams work within select agencies (e.g., the national employment agency, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Finance). [40] The commitment aimed to improve the integration of AI in the government through the establishment of an AI Lab and a call for proposals related to AI for government agencies. The IRM researcher considers the commitment relevant to access to information. One of the milestones requires the publication of ministries’ AI and digital road maps.
The IRM researcher considers the commitment, as written, specific enough to be verifiable. However, the milestones do not provide enough detail about what the road maps for ministries entail, and exchanges with officials in charge did not provide additional information. Milestones 8.2 and 8.3 are vaguely explained in the action plan, and additional information is available on dedicated government websites. The call for proposals gave agencies in charge of delivering public services a chance to experiment with this new technology. [41] The AI Lab will be an interministerial entity, within the Digital Information and Communication system. It will serve government agencies in their efforts to use AI, through the support of in-house data scientists and a network of researchers. [42]
Although AI is undeniably a growing area of interest, the IRM researcher finds that the commitment has a minor potential impact. It mainly sought to stimulate internal interest in AI and did not, per se, require any actual concrete AI project. Moreover, it did not aim to train officials to use AI but required the support of trained data scientists.
Next steps
Despite the general relevance of AI in today’s world, the IRM researcher suggests this commitment not be carried forward to the next action plan. It only required the publications of governmental road maps but did not include any public-facing element that would improve citizen participation or public accountability.
Commitments
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Transparency of Public Services
FR0030, 2018, E-Government
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Transparency of Public Procurement
FR0031, 2018, Access to Information
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Transparency of Development Aid
FR0032, 2018, Access to Information
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Expand Open Data
FR0033, 2018, Access to Information
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Improved Data Policies and Administration
FR0034, 2018, Access to Information
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Transparency of Public Algorithms
FR0035, 2018, E-Government
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Open Data at Sub-National Level
FR0036, 2018, Access to Information
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State AI Lab
FR0037, 2018, Automated Decision-Making
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Administrative Capacity-Building
FR0038, 2018, Capacity Building
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Public Service Incubators
FR0039, 2018, Capacity Building
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Streamline Data Flows
FR0040, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Etat Forum
FR0041, 2018, E-Government
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Online Procedures Dashboard
FR0042, 2018, E-Government
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Govtech Summit
FR0043, 2018, Capacity Building
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Improve Public Consultation Mechanisms
FR0044, 2018, E-Government
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International Transparency and Citizen Participation
FR0045, 2018, Aid
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Public Pariticipation in Sustainable Development
FR0046, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Science
FR0047, 2018, Access to Information
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Citizen Involvement in Cour Des Comptes
FR0048, 2018, Access to Information
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Transparency of Interest Representatives
FR0049, 2018, Access to Information
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Access to Information on Public Officials
FR0050, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Regional and Local Authorities' Data
FR0001, 2015, Access to Information
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Publish Municipal Council Decisions and Reports Online
FR0002, 2015, E-Government
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Publish Building Permits in Open Data Format
FR0003, 2015, Access to Information
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Increase Transparency in Public Procurement
FR0004, 2015, Access to Information
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Improve Transparency in International Development Aid
FR0005, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Access to Public Policy Evaluations
FR0006, 2015, E-Government
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Involve Citizens in Cour Des Comptes Work
FR0007, 2015, Access to Information
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Access to Public Officials Transparency Obligations
FR0008, 2015, Access to Information
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Beneficial Ownership
FR0009, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Transparency in Extractive Industries
FR0010, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Transparency in International Trade Commercial Negotiations
FR0011, 2015, Access to Information
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Fix My Neighborhood
FR0012, 2015, E-Government
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Digital Fix-It
FR0013, 2015, Access to Information
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Co-Produce Data Infrastructure with Civil Society
FR0014, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Legal Resources
FR0015, 2015, Access to Information
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Reform Participatory Mechanisms
FR0016, 2015, Public Participation
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Mediation and Justice
FR0017, 2015, Access to Justice
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Open and Circulate Data
FR0018, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Calculation Models and Simulators
FR0019, 2015, Access to Information
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Open Platform for Government Resources
FR0020, 2015, E-Government
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Improve Public Services Through E-Government and User Interaction
FR0021, 2015, E-Government
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Empower Civil Society to Support Schools
FR0022, 2015, E-Government
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Diversify Recruitment Within Public Institutions
FR0023, 2015, Capacity Building
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Culture Change
FR0024, 2015, Capacity Building
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Spread Public Innovation
FR0025, 2015, Capacity Building
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Protect Against Conflicts of Interest
FR0026, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Civil Society & Transparency in COP21 Conference Planning
FR0027, 2015, Environment and Climate
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Open Data and Climate/Sustainable Development
FR0028, 2015, Access to Information
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Collaborate with Civil Society on Climate and Sustainable Development
FR0029, 2015, Environment and Climate