AI Strategies in Slovakia

Recently, a new section at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Investments and Informatisation was created, called the “Digital Agenda Section”.

In addition, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was transformed into the new Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation of the Slovak Republic (the “Ministry”). It is in charge of the initiative to introduce a legal regulatory framework for AI.

N/A

No draft regulations have been prepared to date. At the moment, major deliverables of the initiative include:

• Action Plan on the Digital Transformation for 2019-2022 (the “Action Plan”), approved by the Slovak Government on 3 July 2019. The document covers measures that can be implemented in the short term;
• Strategy (2030) of the Digital Transformation (“Strategy 2030”), approved by the Slovak Government on 7 May 2019. The document is cross-sectoral and covers measures that can be implemented in the long term. 

The Action Plan defines AI as systems or algorithms that can observe their surroundings, learn and on the basis of acquired knowledge and experience, take or propose decisions. 

Currently, Slovak law does not deal with the issue of AI having a legal personality.

So far there are no detailed concepts on liability for damage.

However, the Action Plan intends to establish a Permanent Commission on the Ethics and Regulation of AI, which should deal with the issues related to liability for damage. 

Furthermore, Strategy 2030 includes the establishment of an Interdepartmental Working Group for the Development and Implementation of AI, which should adopt the major concepts on liability for damage.

So far there are no detailed concepts on liability for damage.

However, the Action Plan intends to establish a Permanent Commission on Ethics and the Regulation of AI, which should deal with the issues related to the safety of products. 

Furthermore, Strategy 2030 includes the establishment of an Interdepartmental Working Group for the Development and Implementation of AI, which should adopt the major concepts on the safety of products.

Lastly, Strategy 2030 emphasises a determination of the Slovak Republic to confront the topic of testing autonomous vehicles.

Regarding the protection of privacy and personal data, Strategy 2030 commits to: 

• modernise and simplify the legal framework in the field of data protection;
• enable the use of “smart-contracts” in practice and support its use;
• provide reliable public data for use in the digital economy;
• use personal data for adopting targeted public services;
• testing a pilot personal assistant based on the personal data.  

So far there are no detailed concepts on liability for damage.

However, the Action Plan intends to establish a Permanent Commission on Ethics and the Regulation of AI, which should deal with the issues related to non-personal data management. 

Furthermore, Strategy 2030 includes the establishment of an Interdepartmental Working Group for the Development and Implementation of AI, which should adopt major concepts on non-personal data management.

Regarding the protection of intellectual property, the Action Plan commits to, among others, preparing an analysis of the regulatory environment in relation to AI. This analysis should also assess the appropriateness of the framework for intellectual property in AI and will be based on the current regulatory situation in the Slovak Republic and in the EU.

Regarding regulatory intervention, the Action Plan commits to:

• prepare an analysis of the regulatory environment regarding AI;
• design and support the implementation of the principles of the transparent and ethical use of AI;
• support the development of an AI ecosystem;
• establish a Permanent Commission on Ethics and the Regulation of AI;
• draft a manual for companies for the introduction of AI. 

So far there are no detailed concepts on the human oversight of AI applications.

However, the Action Plan intends to establish a Permanent Commission on Ethics and the Regulation of AI, which should deal with the issues related to human oversight of AI applications. 

Furthermore, Strategy 2030 includes the establishment of an Interdepartmental Working Group for the Development and Implementation of AI, which should adopt the major concepts on the human oversight of AI applications.

According to the Action Plan, the Ministry together with the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Finance will examine the role played by online platforms on the Slovak market. A comprehensive evaluation of the role of online platforms will analyse their impact on competition through network effects and use of data/personal data on a vast scale.

Also pursuant to Strategy 2030, the Slovak Republic commits to ensure continuous development of 5G networks with balanced regulatory conditions and the maintenance of competition and state aid principles.

According to Action Plan, the Slovak Republic intends to modernise and simplify the legal framework in the field of data protection from the AI perspective. This new legal framework will solve the potential issues of B2C relationships in the Digital Single Market. Furthermore, the Slovak Republic commits to provide reliable public data for use in the digital economy.

Regarding employment, pursuant to the Action Plan, the Slovak Republic commits to: (i) prepare a study of the strategic priorities and measures for the field of employment concerning education in the digital economy; (ii) ensure more attractive employment conditions for IT specialists in the public sector; (iii) prepare a manual for the companies for the introduction of AI; and (iv) support the digital transformation of schools and education to hone the skills necessary for the digital age.

There are certain entities which focus on AI and finances. For example, the Center for Financial Innovations has been serving as a platform for discussions between the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Slovakia, as well as other central state administrative bodies and market participants. The Slovak Republic intends to strengthen the competences of this body in the near future. Also, the National Bank of Slovakia created an innovation hub, which provides guidance in innovative financial mechanisms. 

No solutions were proposed in this regard. 

Both the Action Plan and Strategy 2030 have highlighted a need to analyse the demand for legislative work on defining the basic principles of automation of administrative activities.