ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STRATEGIES OF SMALL STATES: MALTA’S ‘NATIONAL AI ROADMAP’ AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN RIGHTS

This article explores the strategic deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) by small states, using Malta’s AI National Roadmap as a case study to examine the intersection between technological innovation and human rights governance. As global AI development accelerates, small states increasingly seek to assert influence by adopting niche, ethically grounded strategies. Malta’s vision to become “Europe’s AI Laboratory” illustrates how such states can utilize their size and regulatory agility to pilot innovative models of AI governance. The study addresses the central question: Can Malta’s AI strategy achieve a human rights-sensitive equilibrium? The article is structured into four parts. The first section contextualizes the role of small states in the global AI landscape and introduces Malta’s normative and economic ambitions. The second section analyzes the core components of Malta’s AI Roadmap, including its economic orientation toward a data-driven economy, the ethical framework based on transparency and fairness, and its partial integration of human rights standards such as GDPR compliance, anti-discrimination safeguards, and labor protections. The third section offers a critical assessment of implementation challenges, including regulatory and institutional capacity constraints, legal gaps, and civil society concerns about surveillance and data transparency. The final section proposes actionable policy recommendations: institutionalizing human rights impact assessments, enhancing multistakeholder collaboration, and strategically leveraging EU resources. The findings suggest that while Malta’s roadmap demonstrates aspirational leadership in ethical AI, it also reveals gaps between vision and enforceability. Nevertheless, Malta’s approach provides a replicable model for other small states, combining human-centered principles with practical governance tools. Ultimately, the article argues that small states can contribute meaningfully to global AI governance by prioritizing normative innovation, institutional inclusiveness, and sustainable alignment with international human rights law.