Since 2015, several countries have shown significant interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and have released national-level AI strategic plans. These plans reflect the country’s rationale for embarking on AI. To identify what factors influence the AI approach of a country, this study employs the signaling theory to decode strategic national AI plans and understand each country’s rationale. The study adapts the typology of signals and plots AI information given in national AI plans (AI-enabled public services, research, data, algorithmic ethics, governance) in a matrix of intentionality and veracity considering socio-economic and political conditions. Our findings indicate that countries with high democracy scores are more likely than less democratic countries to prioritize ethical and governance issues of AI, however, this is more pronounced in democratic countries with a lower technology base. The results also suggest that advanced research capability and data accessibility for AI is a precondition to developing a nationwide AI system.

自2015年以来，几个国家对人工智能（AI）表现出了浓厚的兴趣，并发布了国家级的AI战略计划。这些计划反映了该国开始使用人工智能的理由。为了确定哪些因素会影响一个国家的AI方法，本研究采用信号理论对国家AI战略计划进行解码，并了解每个国家的基本原理。这项研究适应了信号的类型，并在考虑社会经济和政治条件的意图和准确性矩阵中，绘制了国家AI计划（支持AI的公共服务，研究，数据，算法伦理，治理）中提供的AI信息。我们的研究结果表明，民主程度较高的国家比民主程度较低的国家更有可能优先考虑人工智能的道德和治理问题，这在技术基础较低的民主国家中更为明显。研究结果还表明，先进的AI研究能力和数据可访问性是开发全国AI系统的前提。