Boardroom Brief | MDIA’s Kenneth Brincat on AI Governance, Innovation, and Malta’s DigitalFuture

Kenneth Brincat leads the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA), the body at the centre of Malta’s AI governance framework and its designation as the national competent authority under the EU AI Act. In this edition of the Boardroom Brief, Brincat sets out why Malta is emerging as one of Europe’s more proactive jurisdictions on AI regulation, how the country is bridging the gap between policy and practice for businesses on the ground, and what it will take to turn strong innovation performance into lasting, economy-wide digital transformation.

How would you describe Malta's position on AI governance right now compared to the rest of Europe?

Malta is positioning itself among Europe’s more proactive jurisdictions on AI governance, with a model that combines regulatory preparedness, practical support and innovation enablement.

From a governance perspective, Malta achieved a Government AI Readiness Index governance score of 87.77, significantly above the Western European average of 78.51, demonstrating that strong governance frameworks and innovation performance can progress hand in hand. Malta’s approach is based on the principle that trust and innovation are mutually reinforcing. Good governance should not simply control risk after deployment; it should give businesses the certainty to develop, invest and scale responsibly.

This is reflected in Malta’s early national implementation of the EU AI Act and the designation of the MDIA as the lead national competent authority and single point of contact. The MDIA also serves as market surveillance authority for AI systems outside the law-enforcement context and supports implementation through the AI Helpdesk, practical guidance and compliance tools.

Malta’s position is also distinguished by its focus on governance in practice. The Technology Sandbox allows innovators to engage with regulatory and technical requirements early, when potential risks or compliance issues are easier and less costly to address.

The realigned National AI Strategy takes this further by placing human agency, safety, accountability, transparency, privacy and responsible data governance at the centre of a trusted AI ecosystem focused on societal well-being and sustainability.

This approach is producing encouraging results. 21.5% of Maltese enterprises use AI, compared with an EU average of 20.0%, while 83.5% of SMEs have reached at least a basic level of digital intensity.

What's the biggest gap between how AI regulation is written and how it actually plays out for businesses on the ground?

The biggest gap is not necessarily the content of the rules, but the capacity of businesses, particularly SMEs and micro-enterprises, to translate horizontal legal obligations into practical decisions about a specific AI system.

On paper, businesses can read about risk classifications, human oversight, documentation, monitoring and accountability. On the ground, they need to answer much more immediate questions.

These questions become even more difficult when the AI Act interacts with data protection, cybersecurity and sector-specific requirements. Malta’s existing lines to take identify fragmentation at the intersection of these frameworks as a continuing challenge, particularly in high-impact sectors such as health, finance and public administration.

There is also a significant capability gap. 65.9% of businesses had not participated in formal AI training, while shortages of ICT specialists and access to legal and technical expertise remain particular challenges for smaller enterprises.

The response therefore cannot be regulation alone. Businesses need a coordinated pathway from understanding to implementation, including practical guidance, help desks, training, regulatory sandboxes, access to technical expertise and test-before-invest support.

Malta is addressing this through the AI Helpdesk, the Technology Sandbox, regulatory information sessions, DiHubMT, and funding such as Digitalise Your SME. DiHubMT provides businesses with testing, mentoring, digital-maturity assessment, access-to-finance guidance and skills support.

To what extent can Malta’s provision of free ChatGPT Plus access alongside AI literacy training help develop the AI skills needed in the workforce?

Schemes such as the AI4All, specific training courses including on large language models, IoT and AI Literacy courses can have a very significant impact because Malta is tackling access, education and capability at the same time. Giving people advanced AI tools is useful, but combining that with structured AI literacy means they can learn how to use AI effectively, critically, and responsibly in real working environments. That is how AI moves from being something people are aware of to something they can genuinely apply to improve productivity, decision-making, and innovation.

The key is to see AI literacy as the starting point, not the end goal. Malta still needs advanced specialists, but by raising the AI capability of the wider workforce, improve digital literacy and improve digital emerging technology uptake, we create a much stronger base for adoption across SMEs, government and industry. The real measure of success will not only be how many licences are given out, but how effectively people use AI to work better and create greater economic value. This is reflected through innovation among the workforce, employers and SMEs.

Malta was just classified a “Strong Innovator” for the first time in the European Innovation Scoreboard - how much of a role is AI playing in this shift?

Malta's progression to Strong Innovator status is the result of improvements across the wider innovation ecosystem rather than any single technology area.

The European Innovation Scoreboard 2026 shows Malta performing at 101.1% of the EU average for innovation, ranking 12th among EU Member States, with notable strengths in digitalisation, firm investments, innovation expenditure, cloud computing and intellectual assets.

AI is part of the story, but Malta's progress reflects a much broader strengthening of the innovation ecosystem. What AI does particularly well is act as a multiplier, it helps businesses automate, analyse, prototype and innovate faster, while lowering the cost and technical barriers to experimentation. For an economy like Malta, that matters because we cannot compete on scale alone; we have to compete on human centric skills, agility, and speed.

AI is increasingly acting as a cross-cutting enabler of many of these areas. It is driving demand for digital skills, advanced infrastructure, cloud services, high-performance computing, data capabilities and business transformation.

Malta's strong performance in digitalisation, where it ranks 5th in the EU, together with strong results in cloud computing and innovation activity, provides an important foundation for AI adoption and innovation.

The next challenge is to turn this momentum into widespread adoption. It is not enough for a small number of technology companies to use AI; it has to reach SMEs, traditional sectors and the public sector. Malta stands in a good position to do this, AI can help shift us from being strong adopters of technology to becoming a country that creates, scales and exports innovation. This can be seen in the growing technology niches including but not limited to cybersecurity, quantum fields, high-performance computing and chips.

At the same time, the Scoreboard reminds us that there is more to do, particularly in areas such as research and development investment and venture capital. The next challenge is ensuring that strong adoption of technologies such as AI translates into greater research commercialisation, intellectual property creation and scalable innovation-led growth.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about where Malta's digital innovation policy could go?

A key opportunity for Malta is to build a joined-up ecosystem for emerging technologies, where regulation, skills, infrastructure, research, investment and innovation reinforce one another rather than operate in isolation.

The realigned AI Strategy already reflects this direction. It moves beyond a technology-first approach and places societal well-being, sustainability and trust at the centre of innovation, recognising that technology should improve people's lives rather than be an end in itself.

We are also seeing the foundations being put in place through initiatives such as CALYPSO, Malta's AI Factory Antenna, support for AI adoption, digital skills, research commercialisation, and advanced digital infrastructure.

Looking beyond AI, Malta is increasingly focused on building the foundations that future technologies will require. Whether it is artificial intelligence, advanced computing, quantum technologies or innovations that have yet to emerge, our priority is to ensure that the country has the skills, infrastructure, governance frameworks and international connections needed to participate in the next generation of digital innovation.

What gives Malta a unique advantage is its ability to translate strategy into action. As a small and highly connected jurisdiction, we can bring together government, industry, academia and regulators more quickly, pilot new approaches, and create trusted environments where innovative technologies can be tested, adopted and scaled responsibly.

Ultimately, success will not be measured by how much technology we deploy, but by whether we create a resilient, skilled and competitive economy where innovation improves public services, strengthens businesses and enhances quality of life.