Polish government announces 1bn zloty investment in AI

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s government has announced plans to invest 1 billion zloty (€232 million) in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), including developing a Polish large language model.

On Friday, the defence and digital affairs ministries signed a letter of intent pledging to coordinate efforts in the field, including establishing an Artificial Intelligence Fund and a council to oversee it.

“Artificial intelligence is indispensable today, both in the economic and security contexts. But it is crucial that AI is used safely and responsibly,” said defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. “The Artificial Intelligence Fund and Council aim to select the best projects that constitute the future of Poland.”

“We will spend an amount of around one billion zlotys on Polish artificial intelligence,” added digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski. He did not provide a time frame for that spending but said that more detailed spending plans to be presented in early 2025.

Once established, the artificial intelligence council will be an advisory body tasked with overseeing and coordinating investments and activities related to the development of AI in Poland.

It will develop guidelines to support the implementation of safe and ethical AI, design programs to allocate funds for specific projects, and monitor the development of the AI market in Poland.

It will bring together the several state institutions involved in the distribution of public funds for the development of AI: the digital affairs, education and defence ministries, the Polish Development Fund (PFR), the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR), and the National Development Bank (BGK).

“Artificial intelligence development strategy…is something that can be a competitive advantage for Poland, as well as its security and economic development,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz.

The defence minister highlighted the possibility of the dual-use of AI, with applications in both civilian and military sectors. “The armed forces need artificial intelligence. It will be used, it is already being used,” he added.

Gawkowski, meanwhile, emphasised the role of artificial intelligence in supporting Polish businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

He added that the Polish state would also be involved in building the Polish Large Language Model, an AI model that understands and uses the Polish language, reported the Polish Press Agency (PAP). A project to create that model, known as PLLuM, was launched last year.

AI has recently drawn particular controversy in Poland following a brief “experiment” by a public radio station to launch a channel run almost entirely by AI, including with AI presenters. The longstanding human voice of Google Maps in Poland was also last month replaced by AI.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Ministerstwo Obrony (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.