Europe Decides to Become an “AI Continent”: Infrastructure Will Be Developed, Regulation Will Be Relaxed

The European Union has unveiled a plan to boost its domestic artificial intelligence industry and help it compete with the US and China after local developers criticised the region’s AI regulations.

Image source: Alexandre Lallemand / unsplash.com

The document published by the European Commission talks about the “AI Continent Action Plan”, which aims to “transform Europe’s strong traditional industries and exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration”. The regional authorities intend, in particular, to support local AI projects: to build a network of AI equipment production facilities, “gigafactories”, and open specialized labs that will make it easier for startups to access high-quality data sets for AI training. European officials describe these “factories” as large facilities that use advanced equipment to develop and train AI models. A service will also be created to deal with law enforcement and help local companies comply with the requirements of the local “AI Act”. Similar intentions were previously announced by the UK authorities.

As European authorities talk about plans to boost the region’s presence in the AI ​​market, global tech leaders point out that European legislation on everything from AI to taxation hinders innovation and makes it difficult for local startups to operate. The “AI Act” regulates the use of AI based on the risks the technology poses to society – the document has been adapted to apply to developers of “foundational” models, such as OpenAI and French startup Mistral. The law has also been criticized by US authorities, who noted that European authorities have chosen the wrong mechanisms for interacting with both American tech companies and local startups.

In this regard, the new initiative could provide for easing the regulatory burden and reducing barriers to innovation, experts interviewed by CNBC noted. If the project helps to eliminate legal uncertainty related to the interpretation of the European “AI Act,” it has every chance of becoming an incentive not only for local developers and users of AI systems, but also for companies from the US and UK, because the document applies to all AI systems operating in the region, regardless of their origin.