Innovation and Commercialization Working Group SMEs Committee Report

The SME Committee of GPAI Experts recognizes that one of the biggest hurdles of AI adoption, especially for SMEs, is getting past the initial inertia. Through discussions and industry experience sharing, the Committee identified three main challenges contributing to the initial inertia: difficulty in finding trusted AI solution providers, lack of knowledge to understand AI and identify AI use cases, and lack of guidance for AI adoption strategy. As a result, the SME Committee specifically developed an AI Solution Portal to address these challenges. The Solution Portal is comprised of shared materials and programs from across GPAI member states, which reflect the common goal and spirit among the Experts in the Committee: the sense of urgency to help SMEs be prepared for the new economy. Each member state will be able to adopt the portal for local use by changing the logo, color scheme, images, information, and layout. The Solution Portal proposes various means in helping SMEs to get started in employing AI. While AI Solution Providers can list their solutions on the platform, the Solution Portal admin must approve those AI solutions before they are published. This approval process ensures trusted and quality AI solution listings on the platform. In addition, other than the technicalities of AI solutions, the platform also ensures that all listed AI solutions are compliant with established ethical principles on AI usage, such as GPAI's values and the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence. This way, SMEs can focus on applying AI to enhance their business operations rather than getting bogged down with extraneous details.