Europe promotes sovereign, trusted AI as it struggles to catch US and China
At an international AI summit in Dublin, European leaders promoted trusted and independent AI. Critics question whether the EU can close the gap with the US and China while maintaining strict regulation.
In a bid to bolster its position in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, Europe is actively promoting AI as a means to enhance competitiveness, as it lags behind the US and China in AI development. At an international AI summit in Dublin, hosted as part of Ireland's six-month EU presidency, leaders from the tech and AI industry joined Irish and EU politicians to emphasize AI's potential for economic and societal transformation. However, they also stressed the necessity for robust regulation and safety standards.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin reiterated the country's commitment to AI, echoing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's assertion that the technology represents a "tipping point". He emphasized Europe's determination to balance innovation and opportunity with a trustworthy, human-centered approach to AI.
European Commission executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy Henna Virkkunen announced that the EU had initiated its first enforcement actions under the new AI Act, requesting information from advanced AI model providers regarding security and safety. However, the summit largely focused on promoting AI, with discussions around environmental impact and potential job losses largely absent.
Critics, including left-wing Irish political party People Before Profit, protested the summit's lack of focus on these concerns, arguing that the promoted AI could be pushed on workers without their consent. Despite ramping up data center capacity, the EU still lags behind the US and China in AI computing capacity, hosting only 5% compared to the US's 75%.
The EU's position as a leader in AI is further challenged by its absence from lists of leading AI frontier labs and its limited production of advanced chips. The Irish government, in its role as EU presidency host, presented the Dublin Declaration, outlining commitments to strengthen Europe's AI capabilities, including infrastructure investment and financial support for European AI companies.
However, some critics, like Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson, doubt Europe's ability to effectively regulate AI without stifling innovation, pointing to the industry's speed and efficiency in the US and China.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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