AI EU & country situation and players
What is the AI status in the EU
Presentation of general concepts of AI in the EU
● EU APPROACH TOWARDS AI: intends to give people the confidence to embrace these technologies while encouraging businesses to develop them.
● SET of ACTIONS: the European Commission has proposed a set of actions trying to boost excellence in AI, and the regulation to ensure that the technology is trustworthy:
● The REGULATION on a EUROPEAN APPROACH FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE and the update of the COORDINATED PLAN ON AI will guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses while strengthening investment and innovation across EU countries.
The white paper on AI issued in February 2020 explores the strong human element involved in understanding how best to manage the rise of the data economy and proposes that trust and excellence are key tenets of future data regulation policy.
Know more: What is a white paper? It is a method of presenting government policies and legislation (in this case, at EU level) and gauging public reaction.
1. Boosting EU’s digital capacities and technological and industrial strategic investment in AI, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and 5G.
2. Developing a legislative framework and operating standards for European data spaces to allow governments and researchers to store their data and access trusted data shared by others.
3. Advancing a risk-based approach for “high-risk AI.”
The Commission published its AI package in April 2021, proposing new rules and actions to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy AI.
This package consisted of:
2. A proposal for an AI Regulation laying down harmonised rules for the EU (Artificial Intelligence Act) ;
3. the Coordinated Plan with Member States: 2021 update.
Focus: EU coordinated plan on AI:
Source of image: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/excellence-trust-artificial-intelligence_en
Four (4) Key policy objectives:
1. Set enabling conditions for AI's development and uptake
2. Build strategic leadership in high-impact sectors
3. Make the EU the right place for AI to thrive
4. Ensure AI technologies work for people
Presentation of how Ai is regulated at EU level
• The European Commission plans to invest €1 billion per year in AI from its Digital Europe and Horizon Europe programmes.
• The aim is to attract more than €20 billion of total investment in AI per year in the EU over this decade. The Recovery and Resilience Facility will help speed up investments and go beyond this aim.
• > 25% of all industrial and personal service robots in the world are produced in Europe.
Description of key facts and challenges in the EU
Know more: What does “AI-Ready” mean? It means taking steps to collect data around relevant systems, equipment, and procedures; and storing and curating that data in a way that makes it easily accessible to others for use in future AI applications.
The adoption of artificial intelligence is considerably varied across states of the European region. There are front runners, middle adopters, and late adopters.
Below you can see the table of the countries’ AI readiness from the McKinsey report:
● About 48% of European organisations have adopted artificial intelligence in at least one business function
● Challenges for SMEs: One of the main problems for artificial intelligence adoption in Europe is that small and medium companies face challenges in AI implementation. This is especially relevant in the European context because SMEs represent about 60% of value creation and two-thirds of employment in the EU. SMEs are the backbone of the European economy.
● EU AI startups: the future: Europe is second only to the United States (1,393), with 769 artificial intelligence start-ups (22 percent of the global total). This indicates that, while some European countries may not be globally competitive, Europe has the potential to be a major player in artificial intelligence if it strengthens its digital single market.
Source of pic: McKinsey report, p40. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/artificial%20intelligence/tackling%20europes%20gap%20in%20digital%20and%20ai/mgi-tackling-europes-gap-in-digital-and-ai-feb-2019-vf.ashx
Further resources: Videos and/or useful links
● Interesting Video: AI Regulation: The EU Approach. The view from Irish lawyers’ company perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8QvWxIvjtI
● Interesting study: European enterprise survey on the use of technologies based on artificial intelligence. https://www.ipsos.com/en/european-enterprises-and-ai-technologies
References
● EUs approach to AI. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/excellence-trust-artificial-intelligence_en
● Europe and AI: Leading, Lagging Behind, or Carving Its Own Way? Erik Brattberg. Raluca Csernatoni. Venesa Rugova. Copyright Date: Jul. 1, 2020. Available at: https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/07/09/europe-and-ai-leading-lagging-behind-or-carving-its-own-way-pub-82236
● Eurostat: Artificial Intelligence in EU enterprises. 13/04/2021
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210413-1
● State of Artificial Intelligence in Europe: statistics 2021
https://digiscorp.com/blog/industries-technologies/state-of-artificial-intelligence-in-europe-statistics-2021/
Self-reflection
Students are invited to watch This chart:
https://www.statista.com/chart/24614/share-of-enterprises-using-artificial-intelligence-in-the-eu/
and reflect on the following question
Questions: In the European Union, the share of enterprises using AI currently stands at 7%, though that figure does differ significantly between member states. What percent is showed in your country and how do you think this percentage could be improved?
Exercises
Exercise: Multiple choice
Exercise: Multiple choice
Exercise: Multiple choice
Exercise: Multiple choice
Watch the below video about Securing EU borders with artificial intelligence and answer the below questions.
Choose the correct answer(s):
