SingularityNET has been selected by the government of Malta to contribute to a new task force, Malta.ai, which is responsible for the drafting of Malta’s National AI Strategy. As our first contribution, we will be working with the government of Malta to create the world’s first Robot Citizenship Test.

Robot Citizenship Test

Today, we are excited to announce that SingularityNET has been selected by the government of Malta to contribute towards their National AI Strategy. As a first contribution to this collaboration, SingularityNET will assist the government of Malta in creating the world’s first Robot Citizenship Test.

As nations around the world grapple with the increasing rate and implications of technological advances, various unique national AI strategies have been suggested. The Government of Malta recently established the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA), to explore artificial intelligence as a new sector for economic growth. The Government aims to develop a National AI Strategy and place Malta amongst the leading nations in the development of societal frameworks on AI.

At SingularityNET we believe in benevolent AI and by the same token in benevolent robots. However, we are also aware that benevolence needs to be gradually integrated and perfected by AI researchers. It is SingularityNET’s very purpose to linger on approaches that would enable such ends. Similarly, the Government of Malta recognizes the importance of creating a national AI strategy that promotes the use of AI for the benefit of every sentient being and acknowledges the role that SingularityNET can play in helping draft such a strategy.

As a first step in building a broad and inclusive national AI strategy, the government of Malta will work with SingularityNET to create the Robot Citizenship Test.

The citizenship test would serve as a basis for benevolent robots amongst us, allowing them to pass the test and be considered for citizenship with the possibility of being refused entry. The research and development of the Robot Citizenship Test will eventually lead the way for other countries seeking to develop an AI strategy of their own.

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Malta’s National AI Strategy

The Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Silvio Schembri, recently launched Malta.ai, a task force responsible for the drafting of Malta’s National AI Strategy. According to him, the Robot Citizenship Test will be used as a base for new regulations in AI by the Maltese government.

In the presence of Sophia the Robot, Silvio Schembri explained that Malta would develop a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy cognizant of other strategies being pursued on DLT and IoT.

“After successfully positioning Malta as The Blockchain Island, by being the first in the world to regulate DLT Products and Services, we now would like to position Malta amongst the top 10 countries in the world with an Artificial Intelligence Policy,” said Schembri.

He highlighted the role that SingularityNET will play in Malta’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in the following words:

“In the process, we have invited SingularityNET and the team behind Sophia’s AI to contribute to Malta.ai entrusted with the AI Strategy. Amongst others, with SingularityNET, we shall explore a pilot project to create a citizenship test for Robots in the process of drafting new regulation for AI […] This is the start of another chapter in Malta’s vision to become a technological hub. We look forward to work hand in hand with all stakeholders including European institutions on artificial intelligence.”

SingularityNET’s CEO, Dr. Ben Goertzel aims to develop ethical, transparent, and socially responsible AI, which would operate robots such as Sophia. In that sense, Schembri and Dr. Goertzel’s visions meet, as the government of Malta aims to adhere to the same principles for their national AI framework and strategy.

Dr. Ben Goertzel commented on the collaboration between the government of Malta and SingularityNET in the following words:

“We are extremely excited to be a part of the government of Malta’s creation of an AI-focused task force and the world first citizenship test for robots. The creation of the task force itself shows the government’s recognition of AI’s tremendous potential — and the reality that it must be balanced with risk, policy, and ethical considerations. The task force’s creation is just the very beginning, too. I’m confident the impressive mix of academics, entrepreneurs, and experts being pulled together for the task force will put Malta in a leading position, creating an industry and applications better than many of us can imagine. The bottom line is, if we want the amazing advances in AI that are going to happen in the next couple decades to benefit all of humanity, then we need a wide swath of humanity to participate in creating the next generation of AI and infuse it with their values and intuitions. The flourishing of AI in all its aspects in Malta, which we are seeing now with this Task Force, has potential to play a major role in making sure the coming AI Singularity is a positive one for everyone. It is very important to work together to create a rational basis for AI and robots to be considered citizens of a democracy, with all the rights and responsibilities that come along with it.”

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Together, SingularityNET and the government of Malta will employ AI to improve the health and well-being of citizens, to make government services more accessible, to provide information that is more relevant to the public, relieve employees from simple or repetitive tasks and allow them to focus on more complex activities.

Furthermore, we are also pleased to announce that SingularityNET has been awarded the best AI project at the Malta Blockchain Summit. We would like to thank those in the SingularityNET Community for their unwavering support. Without you, all this would not have been possible.

Next Steps

SingularityNET plans to reinforce and expand its collaborations in order to shape the coming AI Singularity into a positive one, for all. To read more about our other partners, click here.

The best way forward is to come together and work practically towards creating a better future. We hope you will join us in our mission to democratize AI and to use its transformative powers to enact real, positive and lasting change. SingularityNET has a passionate and talented community which you can connect with by visiting our Community Forum. Feel free to say hello and to introduce yourself here. We are proud of our developers and researchers that are actively publishing their research for the benefit of the community; you can read the research here.

For any additional information, please refer to our roadmaps and subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about all of our developments. You can connect with our passionate and talented community by visiting our Community Forum.