competition of the government with itself; Who sits behind the steering wheel of artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence, as one of the most transformative technologies of today, has become the field of global competition. This competition takes place on two main levels:

1. Competition among tech companies: Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Apple strive to excel in algorithms, products, and conquer global markets.
2. Competition among countries: countries such as the United States, China, the United Kingdom and, on another level, the European Union, are seeking to lead this field with large investments and long-term policies.

But in Iran, a third type of competition is observed: Government competition with itself.
By adopting comprehensive strategies, effective regulation and large investment, the leading countries are looking for the development and optimal use of artificial intelligence. For example, the United States has taken a series of key actions from 2016 to 2025 in order to develop and regulate artificial intelligence policies. During the Obama era, the AI ​​policy roadmap was defined by strategic reports and research priorities. With an executive order in 2019, the Trump administration launched the US National Artificial Intelligence Initiative and issued directives for the use of AI in the federal government. In 2022, the Biden administration published the guiding principles of the “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights” and in 2023 signed an executive order for new policy priorities. In addition, various laws such as the AI ​​in Government Act (2020) and R&D funding programs for AI in various federal agencies were developed. These measures have generally focused on promoting security, innovation, competition, civil rights and international cooperation in the field of AI. Over the past years, the US government has allocated a significant budget to the research and development of artificial intelligence. According to estimates, the total US AI research and development budget in the civilian sector in 2025 is about $1.5 billion and in the military sector is about $2 billion.

Such information can also be provided for other leading countries, indicating the important role that governments play in guiding and policy-making, as well as legal and financial support for the development of artificial intelligence.

In such a situation, the policy structure in Iran is still involved in intra-governmental disputes over the responsibility of this technology. This situation has not only slowed down the process of artificial intelligence development and caused confusion for private companies and activists in this field, but also makes it impossible to design a roadmap and national vision for the development and regulation of artificial intelligence. The result of this confusion is staying at the stage of limited use of productive artificial intelligence and the design of some half-assed chatbots, which, rather than unraveling the country’s problems and serving the decision-making system, are merely a temporary show and a tool for advertising and achievement.

To understand the chaotic state of governance in this field in Iran, it is enough to look at the fate of the institutions defined for this technology.

The National Organization of Artificial Intelligence was established with the aim of policymaking, infrastructure development and promotion of national capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence. However, due to the lack of inter-departmental coordination, budget limitations and weak management, it quickly ran into implementation problems. Finally, in May 1404, the government board decided to dissolve this organization and to establish a headquarters for the development of technology and application of artificial intelligence instead. This change was done with the aim of reducing bureaucracy, but in practice it showed the lack of stability and weakness in macro-policy. Even the building of the National Artificial Intelligence Organization was rented; An action that clearly shows the disorderly situation of this institution.

In November 1404, the Islamic Council approved the formation of the National Steering Council of Artificial Intelligence. This council, which is chaired by the president, was formed with the aim of establishing coordination between government institutions, the parliament and the private sector. But this action was also met with opposition. The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution sent a letter to the parliament and requested to stop the review of the project and stated the reason for this request is to prevent parallel work and coordination with the previous approvals. Of course, the parliament did not pay attention to this request and the formation of the aforementioned council was approved.

In addition to the official structures, there is also an underground competition between the Vice President for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the field of artificial intelligence leadership. Although none of these institutions publicly admit to this rivalry, their decisions and behaviors clearly reflect this conflict.

The Scientific Vice-Chancellor considers himself to be the main policy-maker in the field of new technologies and seeks to guide long-term projects in this field by supporting knowledge-based companies. On the other hand, the Ministry of Communications, focusing on the development of digital infrastructure and data governance, plays an important role in creating the necessary platforms for the growth of artificial intelligence. But the lack of a clear division of labor and effective cooperation between these two institutions causes parallel work, waste of resources and slow down the development process.

The waste of resources and energy and the slowing down of the development process are the clear consequences of disputes and conflicts in decision-making institutions. But perhaps the most important negative consequence is the confusion in policy making and gradually moving away from the global competition.

The competition over the responsibility of artificial intelligence in Iran, instead of creating synergy, has caused a waste of resources and a slow progress. While the world is rapidly exploiting the capacities of this technology, Iran is involved in internal conflicts that prevent the definition of macro and operational policies in this field.
If the government cannot correct this situation and focus on cooperation instead of competition, the valuable opportunities of this technology for economic, industrial and social development will be lost. The main question is: who will sit behind the steering wheel of artificial intelligence? Can we expect that this decree will be entrusted to an independent and transparent institution or will we continue to witness fruitless competitions?