Slovakia wants to keep up in the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence, but today it is at a disadvantage. The discussants agreed that without trust and links among science, business, and the state, better access to data, and sensible infrastructure, it won’t happen. AI is an opportunity to speed up services and cut bureaucracy, but it also brings new security and ethical dilemmas.
Why we’re falling behind and what’s missing
Europe invests in AI less than the US or China, and Slovakia is at the tail end of the talent chain in the region. The key problem is low trust between academia, business, and the state, which slows cooperation and rapid implementation. We are strong at crafting strategies, but weak at translating them into practice and tolerating the risk of failure.
The panelists called for strengthening research and for a genuine connection with industry and government – that is, a “triple helix” that does not function consistently here. The first steps can begin between academia and companies and gradually pull in the decision-making sphere. Examples from abroad show that concrete problems and joint teams matter, not just framework documents.
Data, infrastructure, and “our” models
To be successful, we don’t need to build gigantic foundation models from scratch. It is enough to sensibly fine-tune open models to our needs, which primarily requires talent, high-quality data, and adequate computational power; the costs of additional training are comparable to projects worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Alongside that, we need to address data sovereignty and the legal framework so that sensitive data remain protected and processed in Slovakia.
The biggest obstacle is access to state data – their fragmentation, incompatible formats, and complex legislation. The solutions are standardization, digitization, and “sandboxes” following Estonia’s example, where researchers and companies can test safely. A collaboration model can also work: domestic suppliers and a university contributed to the tax administration’s QR payments, and the Ministry of the Interior is testing AI through pilots that it first validates and only then scales.
Talent, startups, and the impact on society
The Slovak AI diaspora is strong and willing to help – there are initiatives that connect it with domestic institutions. But if we want ideas to emerge at home as well, we need simpler company formation, clearer taxes, and transparent procurement. There is less capital in Europe and the “AI label” is fashionable today, but without quality data and clear use cases, no investor will help.
AI can significantly ease paperwork, speed up services, and “dematerialize” the state, but the administrative burden may also increase in other areas. Alongside the benefits, risks are growing: deepfakes, voice cloning, and new types of attacks are changing the rules of security and how we distinguish truth from fiction. Therefore, we need not only technologies and infrastructure, but also ethical guardrails, critical thinking, and trust among the actors who are implementing them.
