Scotland's Artificial Intelligence strategy 2026-2031

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping economies, industries and public services around the world. It is revolutionising the way we live and work. It is both a disruptor and an extraordinary opportunity and demands a new perspective on the role of innovation and technology in driving economic success.

This Strategy sets out Scotland’s ambition to harness AI responsibly, for the benefit of everyone. It focuses on supporting sustainable growth and strengthening public services while ensuring that Scotland remains competitive in an ever evolving global landscape. In doing so, it builds on Scotland’s established commitment to the responsible use of AI and shows how we will keep pace with, and prosper as a result of, rapidly changing global technologies and markets.

The strategy includes a set of outcomes that encapsulate our vision for a Scotland in which the responsible use of AI delivers sustainable value to people, places and organisations across the country. It sets out the actions we will take to ensure that our outcomes can be delivered at scale. It does this through the use of a new model, the ‘AI Stack’, which describes a series of ‘layers’ in which action must be taken to ensure an effective response to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Throughout the lifecycle of this strategy, we will publish regular reports on progress, iterating and evolving our action plan as technology advances and the context within which we work changes. We are committed to learning lessons and responding quickly as opportunities and challenges arise.

We will also maintain the level of informed consultation and collaboration that has underpinned the development of this strategy. This has included input from the Scottish Technology Council^[1] and discussions at a series of consultation events hosted by partners such as the Data Lab^[2], Prosper^[3], ScotlandIS^[4], the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations^[5] and the University of Glasgow Centre for Data Science and AI^[6].

Our aim is to build on these partnerships by tapping into expertise in business, our universities and colleges and the public sector, taking every opportunity to engage internationally and position Scotland amongst the nations who are seeking to lead in the world of AI.

“The global AI landscape is incredibly competitive – to make a real difference, we must capitalise on areas where we have built world-leading excellence over the last 60 years. But that cannot happen without making this excellence much more visible on the global stage to attract more talent and investment.” - Prof Michael Rovatsos, Professor of AI, School of Informatics and Dean of Research and Innovation, College of Science and Engineering, The University of Edinburgh

“Scotland is quietly doing some of the most interesting work in AI anywhere. We have world-class universities leading the way in research, and we are increasingly seeing collaboration between start-ups and large enterprises to build practical AI applications. Collaboration will be key to competing on the global stage.” - Rich Wilson, CEO and Co-Founder, Gigged.AI