Artificial intelligence one of the EU’s development goals

The European Commission, in order to increase competitiveness in the market and gain confidence based on EU values, has been facilitating closer cooperation throughout the community for many years. Among other things, they have resulted in increasingly developed artificial intelligence. As part of this effort, a package of measures has been adopted to support European start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises. The premise of all these activities is the development of trustworthy and compatible artificial intelligence (AI) in accordance with EU values and regulations.

Artificial intelligence – EC efforts to develop it

The first steps in the development of artificial intelligence in the EU were described in the European Commission’s White Paper on Artificial Intelligence, published in 2020. It outlined a vision for AI in Europe – moving toward an ecosystem of trust and excellence. In April 2021. a proposal has been made for an EU AI act and a new coordinated plan, which was created in cooperation with member states, to ensure the security and respect of the rights of citizens and businesses. It is also not insignificant to promote investment and innovation in all EU countries. In December 2023. The content of the EU AI act has been tentatively agreed upon. This is the world’s first comprehensive law on the subject.

A new initiative to make supercomputers available to innovative European artificial intelligence start-ups was mentioned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2023 State of the Union address. The first step toward its implementation was the November 2023 announcement. The Great AI Challenge, a competition in which the prize is financial support and access to supercomputing.

Package of measures to provide support for the development of artificial intelligence

The package adopted by the European Commission to support the development of artificial intelligence provides a wide range of funds for innovation and privileged access to supercomputers for specialized start-ups. It concerns:

• Amending the EuroHPC regulation to establish artificial intelligence factories, a new pillar of the Joint Venture’s supercomputing efforts. New activities include:
• Acquiring, improving and operating supercomputers designed for AI work to enable rapid machine learning and training of large general-purpose AI models;
• Facilitating access to supercomputers designed for AI work, thus contributing to the use of artificial intelligence by more public and private users, including start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Offering a single point of contact for start-ups and innovators, supporting the AI start-up and research ecosystem in algorithm development, test evaluation and validation of large-scale models, providing programming facilities and other support services;
• Enabling the development of new artificial intelligence applications based on general-purpose AI models;
• Decision on the establishment within the Commission of an Office for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The Artificial Intelligence Council will take care of the development and coordination of AI policies at the European level and will oversee the implementation and enforcement of the future AI act;
• Communication on AI start-ups and innovation in the EU, which outlines additional key actions:
• financial support that the Commission will allocate to generative AI through the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programs. Implementation of the package will entail additional public and private investment worth a total of about €4 billion by 2027;
• Accompanying initiatives to strengthen the EU’s generative AI talent pool through education, training, and acquisition or retraining activities;
• Continue to encourage public and private investment in AI start-ups and scale-ups, including through venture capital or equity support (including through new initiatives under the EIC and InvestEU “Accelerator” programs);
• Accelerate the development and implementation of common European data spaces for AI as a key resource for training and improving models. The current situation in this regard is outlined in the Commission Staff Working Document on Common European Data Spaces;
• “GenAI4EU” initiative, which aims to support the development of new applications in 14 European industrial ecosystems, as well as in the public sector. Application areas include robotics, health, biotechnology, manufacturing, transportation, climate and virtual worlds.

Consortia for European Digital Infrastructure (EDIC)

The European Commission, in cooperation with member states, will set up two European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (collectively known as EDICs):

• “Alliance for Language Technology” (ALT-EDIC), which aims to build a common European language technology infrastructure in response to the scarcity of data on European languages and to preserve the richness of the continent’s linguistic and cultural diversity. The alliance will support the development of large European language models;
• “CitiVERSE” EDIC will use cutting-edge AI tools to develop and expand local digital twins for smart communities, thus helping cities simulate and optimize processes – from traffic management to waste management.

When will the package of measures providing support for the development of artificial intelligence take effect?

The European Commission’s proposed amendments to the regulation on the establishment of the Joint Undertaking in the field of European Large Scale Computing will be examined by the Parliament and the European Council.

As envisioned, the Office of the Food and Drug Administration has been working on a number of issues. An Artificial Intelligence Committee will be created within the European Commission, and will be tasked with implementing the AI Act at the EU level and overseeing regulations for general-purpose models and systems. It is expected to become the central coordinating entity for AI policy at the EU level and to cooperate with other European Commission services, EU bodies, member states and the community. The office will also have an international dimension – promoting the EU’s approach to AI management and supporting the EU’s international AI activities. Office for the Environment. The goal of the Artificial Intelligence Council is to facilitate its understanding and support AI implementation and innovation in the field. The decision to establish it will take effect on February 21, 2024.