00:00Right, so to start off, can you just both tell me your names, please, and what your role is?
00:03Tim Johnston, Minister for Enterprise.
00:06Lyle Raxal, Chief Executive of Digital Alaman.
00:08Okay, perfect. And can one of you, either of you, tell me exactly what the AI office is all about?
00:16The National AI office is being launched to bring together successes across government around the work we've done on Activate AI,
00:24the work we're doing in the Efficiencies Programme, to make sure that we're all working together to understand how we adopt AI properly,
00:33how we do it responsibly, how we do it ethically, and make sure that we provide clear guidance for people who want to embark on that journey
00:40so they've got a really clear understanding of what they can do and what they can't do.
00:45Perfect. And I understand this isn't a completely brand new team, it's already sort of going to be made from existing departments, is that right?
00:53Absolutely. So building on teams that already exist today, and just really making sure that we're coordinating and communicating
01:01and having a really clear, singular approach to how we do things, so it makes a much clearer alignment and a clear sort of direction of where we're headed.
01:11Perfect. And do you know exactly, at this point, how big the team is going to be? How many people are going to be in the AI office, exactly?
01:18So the AI office is quite a federated thing, so certainly within Digital Alaman, we've got three roles in there at the moment,
01:25they're not all full-time on AI. Beyond that, say, the broader teams, you're talking about regulators,
01:32you're talking about the Efficiencies Programme, how many of those are going to be dedicated to this is a difficult question to answer at this stage.
01:40We also have opportunity or the need to also engage more closely with industry as well, so they'll be playing a part in this too.
01:48So a bit of building still needs to be done in terms of closing out those gaps.
01:52Yeah. And of course, you've got a short-term plan for the first year, but have you also got sort of a long-term, sort of longer-term strategy as to what will look like in maybe five, six years' time?
02:01So that's one of the deliverables of this year, is to create that strategy, which we'll then be put in front of Tynwald for discussion and debate.
02:12This is a really fast-moving area at the moment, so whether it's a five- or six-year strategy or something slightly shorter is yet to be determined.
02:22But obviously, it's really important that beyond the plan that we've got this year, we do have that clear sense of how we're going to build this ongoing for the future.
02:34Yeah. Minister, government, economy and society were three things that were highlighted as being opportunities for the AI office to sort of look at and delve into.
02:44Are these equally weighted in the three, or is there any certain one of those three that's more important than the other?
02:50I wouldn't say it's any more important. I think it's about rolling it out and making sure that we're giving opportunities across society, business and government to really make the most of this.
03:01And that's why I think it's worth having this office, as Lyle says, making sure this is not something in isolation, this is not something that's in DfE, this is something that's across government, but also working with business and across society.
03:14It's about the whole island's AI literacy, really, and it's about building on that, building confidence, building education around AI, so that we can really adopt it and use it right across society, both to improve government efficiencies, for businesses to improve their productivity and efficiencies, and also for individuals as well to benefit from it.
03:35So you can't really isolate those individually, I don't think.
03:40Okay. Is there anything that the Isle of Man is doing differently to maybe sort of similar offices and organisations in the UK at all, or is it going to be quite similar to other ones around the world?
03:52I think the different models around the world are different.
03:56Yeah, of course, yes.
03:57So we are working, looking at other jurisdictions, the UK is obviously one of them, looking at different regions, when we started looking at some of our workshops, we've looked at the Ukraine, we've looked at Sweden, we've looked at Australia, we have a relationship with Singapore, and they provide guidance and assistance to us as well.
04:20So we've taken quite a broad view of different jurisdictions, and we've tried to bring back the bits that we think are relevant for the Isle of Man, in terms of the way we're set up, what our ecosystem looks like, and what our priorities are right now.
04:37So I feel that there's still a bit of learning to be done as we go through the process, but for now, I think we've got something that I believe fits pretty well for the Isle of Man.
04:47Yeah, I think what we've already been very good at as an island, as a government, and within DfE, is the speed, we can move forward quickly, and we can innovate, and we work closely with business, and without the financial structures and the regulatory structures we have on Ireland.
05:03And the Innovation Challenge is a classic example of that, where Digital Isle of Man and our other agencies have worked very closely over the last two, three years with the Innovation Challenge, and we've got the health challenge coming up this year.
05:14And I think that shows you where we can really, in a small jurisdiction, move quickly and be agile and actually really embrace opportunities there.
05:23And this is a classic area, I think, where we can do that.
05:28You stated before the budget was £1 million, is that correct? Can you break down how that budget is going to be spent, or is that something you're not sure about yet?
05:36So, it's still very much a work process. I've got some very high-level views on it. I think, you know, what I have said is the majority of that will be going for services and functions, not on headcount in government.
05:48So, you know, training, the literacy, you know, providing that support is, you know, that cost of money, making sure if we're going to engage locally, that we're, you know, procuring services in the right way.
05:59So, you know, I think there'll be a benefit to our economy and some of our local businesses with that spend as well.
06:06I think you touched on this before, so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but would you say this new AI office is more weighted towards AI security or what it can offer the Isle of Man?
06:15It should be balanced between both.
06:17Right.
06:19And that's really, it's tricky balance to strike.
06:21It's, you know, you want to remove fear, provide confidence, but we need to be aware of some of the issues, some of them are obvious, some of them are less obvious, and make sure that we've got a structure where there can be coaching, mentoring, guidance to give people the confidence to embrace this in the right way.
06:41AI as a tool at the end of the day, I think the key thing is how you use it, and it's making sure you're using it to its best ability in a safe, you know, proper, efficient way going forward is the key, and working with experts across society, across business, across government to do that.
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