TEHRAN – The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology has announced the finalization of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, highlighting the pivotal role of AI in the country’s scientific progress.
IRNA reports that the plan was developed in collaboration with the Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy.
The action plan was announced at a meeting held on Wednesday in the presence of First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.
The main pillars of the action plan include “transforming education and human resource development”, “strengthening research and innovation capacity building”, “promoting and commercializing AI”, “expanding science diplomacy and international cooperation”, and “improving the country’s scientific standing”.
Strengthening research and innovation capacity development includes establishing five national laboratories at selected universities, developing an interdisciplinary major in AI-focused graduate programs, and incorporating an “AI and Digital Transformation” course for undergraduates that is required for engineering majors and supplementary for other majors.
The promotion and commercialization of AI focuses on selecting and supporting many universities as national AI research and development centers. Support the development of at least three basic AI models (including a language-visual model) based on national data and launch a platform to collect and share research and education data in a secure manner.
Expanding scientific diplomacy and international cooperation emphasizes fostering the formation and growth of AI startups and organizing AI competitions.
Expanding science diplomacy and international cooperation includes strengthening education and research cooperation with Shanghai, top universities in BRICS member states, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states.
Among the goals are cooperation on AI regulation, standardization, and cooperation with Iranian elites and experts living abroad.
Improving the country’s scientific standing emphasizes maintaining and improving the country’s international ranking in AI, indexing at least eight specialized journals in the first and second quartiles, increasing support for top researchers and patents, and strengthening scientific associations and national AI networking.
Progress in Iranian AI scientific research indicators
According to the Nature Index, the country’s ranking in scientific achievements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) improved from 33rd to 30th, putting it among the top 50 leaders, Vice President for Science and Technology Hossein Afshin said in August.
He said Iran’s ranking in the region fluctuates between 14th and 17th, mainly due to its focus on quality, adding: “We are optimistic about improving the country’s scientific status within the next two years,” IRNA reported.
The official further said that the country will move forward with the development of AI infrastructure, including AI platforms and AI assistants, in the near future.
The latest report from the Oxford Insights Index, which measures governments’ readiness to introduce AI into public services, ranks Iran 91st out of 188 countries, up three places from 94th in 2023.
AI will play a key role in not only managing technology but also improving government performance.
The Government AI Readiness Index has become a trusted resource for policymakers and has been adopted as an official benchmark by governments.
This year’s edition examines 188 countries’ AI readiness as governments face increasing complexity as they face evolving public needs and challenges, including economic uncertainty, climate risk, and rising inequality.
At the heart of the index is the question: How ready are governments to deploy AI in public service delivery? By answering this question, we aim to provide practical tools that support evidence-based decision-making and enable policymakers to unlock the potential of AI to better serve populations around the world.
The highest ranking in the country was in data and infrastructure with a score of 66.29, an improvement compared to last year’s score of 55.88. This includes infrastructure (70), data availability (43), and data representativeness (121) metrics.
MT/MG