European Commission to Push for Artificial Intelligence Development in the EU
The European Commission is set to drive the development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the EU in the coming years, with a focus on building mega-factories for AI that European companies can use to train their models. This is revealed in a draft of the Competitiveness Compass, a kind of master plan to promote the competitiveness of the EU, which the Commission is expected to present in the coming days and which the FAZ reports on.
US President Donald Trump also announced a major AI offensive for the United States this week and the EU, according to the Commission’s master plan, will create an agency modeled after the US innovation agencies ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agencies), which is intended to promote investments in key technologies.
The Commission warns in its paper, as reported by the FAZ, that “without urgent rethinking and a new approach, the future of the EU as an economic power center, as an investment location and as a production hub is at stake.”A central role is also seen for the reduction of bureaucracy and faster approval procedures. The Commission will also aim to strengthen the industrial policy and funding of the EU member states in Brussels.
The Commission’s plans are part of a broader effort to reposition the EU as a leader in the global digital economy and to ensure that the benefits of AI are shared fairly among all EU citizens. The Commission is expected to present its plans in more detail in the coming weeks and the debate is likely to continue in the EU’s institutions and among stakeholders.