The goals of the National Artificial Intelligence Document are unrealistic considering the current state of the country’s infrastructure

In a specialized panel, three prominent experts in the field of artificial intelligence of Iran reviewed and criticized the national document of artificial intelligence of Iran. Dr. Karim Zahedi, Vice President of Technology, Innovation and Knowledge-Based Economy of the Science and Technology Headquarters of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, Dr. Mohammad Reza Maboudian, Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Commission of the Computer Trade Union System, and Dr. Mohammad Hadi Zahedi, Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Association of Iran, in This meeting criticized the global indicators of artificial intelligence and the challenges facing this document.

Fall of Iran’s ranking in artificial intelligence readiness index

At the beginning of this panel, Dr. Zahedi criticized the current situation of Iran in artificial intelligence readiness indicators and announced that Iran has fallen 20 places in this global ranking in recent years. Referring to the annual report of Stanford University, he said: “We have fallen from the 74th to the 94th rank, while in the national document of artificial intelligence of Iran, it is targeted that we should reach the 30th rank by 1407.” Zahedi considered this gap as a serious challenge to achieve the goals of the document and criticized the inconsistency of these indicators with the existing realities.

Criticism of international indicators in the national document

Dr. Zahedi believes that some of the international indicators that are considered as a basis in the national document of artificial intelligence, have not been compiled correctly. He pointed out that some of these indicators focus on the number of scientific articles, while these articles do not necessarily address the quality of research and their real impact on society and the economy.

Zahedi continued: “We cannot judge a country’s success in artificial intelligence based on the number of scientific articles. Other criteria such as innovation and the practical effect of technologies should also be considered.

Failure to match the goals of the document with the existing capacities

In another part of this meeting, Dr. Mohammad Reza Maboudian mentioned the implementation challenges of the National Artificial Intelligence document. He said: “The document states that we must reach a processing capacity of one exaflops in the next three years for big artificial intelligence projects, but already some countries in the region, such as one of the Persian Gulf countries, have implemented a project with a capacity of sixteen exaflops.” Maboudian believes that the goals of the national document are unrealistic and too ambitious considering the current state of the country’s infrastructure and financial resources.

Lack of funding and artificial intelligence infrastructure

Moboudian further pointed to the lack of funds in the field of artificial intelligence and the lack of adequate financial resources to fulfill the goals of the document. He said: “Instead of planning for big projects and long-term goals, we should first improve the existing situation and provide the necessary infrastructure for progress in this area. “Unfortunately, in the document, there is no mention of how to finance these projects, and this is a big flaw.”

The governing spirit of the document and transparency of goals

In this panel, Dr. Mohammad Hadi Naseri criticized the ruling spirit of the document and said: “This document seems to be more designed to hold some meetings and present official reports than a real strategic plan.” We don’t know if this document is for the government, for the private sector or for the people?” Naseri also pointed out that many of the goals of the document are not only not clear, but also not in line with the current needs of society and the country’s economy.

As one of the main critics of the National Artificial Intelligence document, Naseri addressed the lack of attention to the real needs of society in this document and said: “In advanced countries, artificial intelligence directly serves public welfare and solves important social issues. For example, in Japan, the challenge of population aging is recognized as one of the main problems of society, and artificial intelligence is used to provide public and medical services to the elderly. Do we also have such a view in Iran’s national artificial intelligence document?”

At the end of this meeting, Dr. Zahedi stated: “We must request the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution to put the urgent review of this document on its agenda.” Moboudian also pointed to the essential role of specialized human resources in advancing the goals of the document and said: “We need to train expert human resources to be able to use artificial intelligence tools effectively.”

Naseri also called for more clarity in the goals and plans of this document and emphasized that this document should be prepared in a way that responds to the real needs of the Iranian society and properly benefits from international experiences.