In the future, machines might not only be able to learn but also to define themselves, and for this reason, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat believes that we could soon be discussing the rights of robots.

Speaking at the Malta Innovation Summit, Muscat doubled down on his speech in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations where he said that after becoming the ‘Blockchain Island’, A.I. would be next for Malta. This tied into his emphasis on the importance of Malta to continue being innovative.

“Once we’ve achieved our blockchain goal, we’re now setting our aim towards AI. We’re getting into the discussion about the future of work, meaning what type of productivity will the world be engaged in over the next few decades.”

The Prime Minister also described Maltese culture as being innovative in and of itself, explaining how Malta had transformed itself from a fortress economy, to a trourism and manufacturing economy, and presently to a focus on iGaming, financial services, blockchain, and furthering our technological reach.

“The way we reinvent ourselves every now and then is based on our innovative instinct. We should push one another to be more innovative in the way we think and act, and this comes about with education.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri echoed Muscat as he also stated that after blockchain “the next priority is AI, quantum technology, space mining, big data and the internet of things”.