Analysis of the Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem in Iran and Identifying Institutional and Functional Gaps

Artificial intelligence will be one of the main drivers of human life at least in the next decade. Therefore, many governments are striving to plan and utilize the benefits of this technology. To this end, one of the focus areas has been the analysis of ecosystems and providing the groundwork for the development of this technology and wealth creation. However, research findings show that the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the country has not yet taken shape in the true sense, and it is in the early stages of formation, in terms of maturity. There is still no relative consensus among actors for dividing tasks and missions. In this article, using qualitative research methods and based on library studies, structured interviews, and expert panels, the country's artificial intelligence ecosystem has been analyzed, and a proposed model for redesigning it has been mapped out. The proposed model consists of 16 functions and seven main actor groups that must interact with each other. In the proposed model, there are gaps in institutions that currently do not exist or have not played a significant role, which include: governance gap, awareness-raising gap, standardization gap, ethical institution gap, innovation development gap, data governance gap, consortia, business cluster gaps, and the network institution gap. In addition to these, in some of the functions, institutions or organizations have been considered for them, but for various reasons, the desired and suitable output for advancing that function is not seen in the artificial intelligence ecosystem. These functional weaknesses are mainly related to monitoring, research and development, technical infrastructure provision, and the provision of other technical services.