Vice-Minister Valys underscored the importance of democratic values in the management of AI

On 20 February, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Taurimas Valys participated in the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi. During the meeting Valys emphasized that for Lithuania it is importanr that the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) ensures technological development of AI in a manner that strengthens democratic resilience in Lithuania.

Valys presented Lithuania's priorities in the field of AI. He noted that Lithuania is developing a competitive AI economic model, which could account for up to 17% of the country's GDP in the future. According to the Vice-Minister a strong scientifical and innovation-based ecosystem, rapidly growing health, biotechnology, semiconductor, and defence technology sectors are the core elements for the development of this model.

According to the Vice-Minister, it is imperative for the global AI standards to be based on democratic values and to ensure the observance of human rights, which is why Lithuania supports closer coordination between GPAI and other international organizations. The Valys r emphasized the importance and contribution of both large and small countries in the GPAI platform.

"Democracies are strongest when they work together," said Valys, calling for stronger cooperation in developing artificial intelligence that contributes to freedom, security, and common prosperity.

The Vice-Minister also drew attention to the "Vilnius Convention" and Lithuania's contribution in strengthening global AI protection. "Vilnius Convention" is the first legally binding international document i dealing with AI and is an important step towards creating ethical, human-centric AI governance.

At the meeting, Valys also talked about the importance of social inclusiveness and mentioned initiatives such as "Women Go Tech", "Connected Lithuania", and "No One Left Behind", which help to reduce the digital diverge and enable people from different groups to acquire digital skills.