TEHRAN – By allocating 50 trillion rials (some $100 million), the public and the private sector will develop the infrastructure for artificial intelligence operators in the next calendar year, which starts on March 21.

The importance of artificial intelligence cannot be denied. However, it’s hard to keep pace with the rapid [global] growth in the area, Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, the vice president for science and technology, said, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks while attending the first meeting of the national steering committee’s working group on artificial intelligence.

The main objective behind founding the national steering committee is to promote and develop AI in the country with the help of both the private sector and the public sector, he added.

Dehqani-Firouzabadi went on to say that the national committee is not seeking to hold a share in management. It aims to facilitate and coordinate the development of AI by developing a streamlined, dynamic, and synergetic structure. It also endeavors to pave the way for individuals to participate in the development of artificial intelligence.

On December 3, 2023, President Ebrahim Raisi issued an executive order for the establishment of the 'National Steering Committee and the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center'.

Creating a complete and stable chain of ideas to market in AI, benefiting from AI for the economic progress of the country, planning to achieve a leading and sustainable position among the countries of the world, as well as identifying and nurturing talents in the field of AI are among the most important tasks of the national AI center.

Plans to develop AI

"Iran ranks 17th in artificial intelligence in terms of scientific production and publication of articles in the world, while ranks 78th in terms of its application in the world,” Firouzabadi said in July 2023.

The Vice Presidency has prepared three comprehensive plans to develop artificial intelligence in different sectors.

Firouzabadi said artificial intelligence is the first priority for the development of technology and is pursued with three programs.

Artificial intelligence is a comprehensive technology and affects all other areas of technology, he highlighted.

“The plans in the field of artificial intelligence include scientific development programs that are mostly pursued in universities. The second plan is technology development programs that are pursued in companies that work in the field of artificial intelligence. And the third plan is the creation of a national technology hub in the field of artificial intelligence."

In January 2022, Shahram Moein, head of the innovation and development center of artificial intelligence at the Research Institute of Information and Communication Technology, said, “Iran will be placed among the top 10 countries in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2032 based on the national document on artificial intelligence strategy.”

 “To draft this document, strategic documents of 23 countries in the field of artificial intelligence were evaluated so that areas such as environment, health, transportation, online education, energy, robotics, industry, agriculture, and security development are among the priority areas of AI.

MT/MG