The Brazilian (Non)perspective on national strategy for artificial intelligence

Abstract

This article examines the design dynamics and process of the Brazilian National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (EBIA). We argue that Brazil has a long history of policies for digital development, covering a range of policies that encourage research and development and deploy AI-based digital technologies in industry and governments. Specifically for the AI policy, we analyze how these policies are fragmented into different initiatives without an approach to integrating the instruments and their mixes. We analyze how and why the Brazilian National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence design fails to implement and create an integrated perspective of these policies. This perspective for AI policy in Brazil results in fragmentation and failures to involve actors in the formulation and implementation process. The article concludes that the Brazilian perspective for artificial intelligence, emerging with EBIA, reproduces a situation of path dependence without promoting significant policy changes for the development and application of this technology in society.