The European Union can become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and promote the development and deployment of AI solutions that benefit society and the economy. The Commission has presented the AI continent action plan to turn EU strengths, such as unparalleled talent and strong traditional industries, into AI accelerators.
The AI continent action plan explains how to harness the untapped potential of our researchers and industries. It aims to shape the next phase of AI development, boosting economic growth, and strengthening our competitiveness in areas such as healthcare, cars, science and more.
Main actions of the AI continent action plan
Building on the launch of the InvestAI initiative that will mobilise €200 billion for investment in AI In the EU, the AI continent action plan aims to enhance our AI capabilities, by promoting initiatives around five key areas.
Building a large-scale AI computing infrastructure
Advanced AI models need investment, infrastructure and collaboration. Our plan will bring the necessary elements together to help European businesses excel in AI by
- setting up at least 13 AI factories across Europe, using our world-leading supercomputing network. These factories will support startups, industry, and researchers to develop cutting-edge AI models and applications.
- establishing up to 5 AI gigafactories, large-scale facilities with massive computing power and data centres. They will enable the training of complex AI models at an unprecedented scale. This initiative requires both public and private investment and will secure EU leadership in frontier AI.
- the InvestAI facility that aims to mobilise €20 billion, to drive private investment in gigafactories.
- proposing the cloud and AI development act that will boost private investment in cloud and data centres. The goal is to at least triple the EU’s data centre capacity within the next five to seven years, prioritising sustainable data centres.
Increasing access to high-quality data
Large, high-quality datasets are essential to develop and train advanced AI models. We will create the conditions for a single market for data through
- the upcoming data union strategy, which will foster a true internal market for data, enabling the scaling up of AI development across the EU.
- data labs within AI factories to gather and organise high-quality data from diverse sources. This will give researchers and developers the tools they need to innovate.
Promoting AI in strategic sectors
Currently, only 13.5% of EU companies use AI. To bridge this gap the Commission will soon launch the apply AI strategy. This strategy will
- boost the use of AI in industries.
- integrate AI into strategic sectors such as the public sector and healthcare.
- use AI factories and European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) to implement the strategy.
Strengthening AI skills and talents
To meet the increasing demand for AI talent, we will
- facilitate international recruitment, including by continuing to open up legal migration pathways for highly skilled non-EU workers in AI.
- retain and attract the best AI talent by bringing researchers and experts to Europe.
- launch educational and training programmes on AI and generative AI in key sectors to train the next generation of AI specialists and help workers upskill and reskill.
Simplifying the implementation of the AI act
We are committed to supporting our companies and EU countries in the implementation of the AI Act. We have already published guidelines and are facilitating codes of practice. The upcoming AI Act Service Desk will be a central point of contact for businesses seeking information and guidance.
Source: https://commission.europa.eu/
