LISBON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Portugal will establish an artificial intelligence (AI) excellence center and incubator within its public administration, alongside new regulatory sandboxes for testing emerging technologies, Minister for State Reform Goncalo Matias announced Monday during the 2026 State Budget debate.
Matias said Portugal is attracting major investment proposals for AI gigafactories, prompting the government to craft two national data center strategies, one for AI and another for sovereign cloud computing. These will be integrated through a national plan, creating pre-licensed zones for data centers.
He added that the government will present the sovereign cloud strategy and build the corresponding infrastructure in coordination with other government areas.
"Artificial intelligence will be used for document management, to speed up and improve decision-making, but it will never replace human judgment," Matias said, stressing that human oversight remains vital to safeguard the public interest.
He also announced a new state management support platform to give officials better data-based decision tools. "It is not possible to govern without data," he said.
Portugal's broader National Digital Strategy aims to enhance digital literacy, interoperability, and service integration through initiatives such as sovereign cloud, digital wallets for companies and buildings, a unified transport pass, and a national strategy for smart territories. ■
