Twenty-four EU countries sign artificial intelligence pact in bid to compete with US & China - EU deal pumps $2.6 billion into AI
Mariya Gabriel said EU-level agreement on artificial intelligence can be a "driving force" for member states to compete with tech giants in the US and China. [
European Commission]
Twenty-four EU countries pledged to band together to form a “European approach” to artificial intelligence in a bid to compete with American and Asian tech giants.
The agreement says the countries will consider putting public research funding into AI, but it does not promise dedicated new investments.
Ministers from all EU member states except for Cyprus, Romania, Croatia and Greece signed a declaration on Tuesday (10 April) vowing to “modernise national policies” as part of an effort to develop large-scale AI research.
One Commission official said the four EU countries that did not sign were not opposed to the initiative but might still need approval before signing. Norway also signed the declaration.
European politicians are scrambling to amp up their work on AI by earmarking public funds and nudging companies to invest in technologies like medical applications that process huge amounts of data and robotics.
The EU’s investment in AI lags behind the US and China, and the bloc’s new initiative could still be hampered by competition between member states, or by their differing positions on regulation.
EU Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel will publish a strategy paper on AI on 25 April that she said will outline legal issues that the technology is likely to create, and also address fears about robots replacing jobs. She will not propose binding legislation focused on AI.