European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, February 11, that the European Union would mobilize a total of 200 billion euros ($206.5 billion) to invest in artificial intelligence in the region.
Ursula von der Leyen noted that the race for leadership in the machine intelligence industry has not yet been won by the United States or China.
The amount stated by the head of the European Commission on Tuesday includes the already announced financing of 150 billion euros. In this case, it means funding from investors and industry. Ursula von der Leyen said that the block will increase the mentioned financing by 50 billion euros.
During a speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris, the head of the European Commission said that the specified initiative will be the world’s largest public-private partnership to develop trustworthy artificial intelligence focused on industrial and mission-critical apps and powering EU gigafactories for processing large models.
Ursula von der Leyen also noted Europe’s desire to become one of the leading AI continents, and this means embracing a way of life where artificial intelligence is everywhere.
The head of the European Commission stated that she does not agree with the frequent statements that the EU is late for the AI race, while the United States or China has already pulled ahead. In the relevant context, Ursula von der Leyen noted that the mentioned race is far from being over. According to her, the frontier is constantly moving, leadership is still up for grabs, and behind the frontier is the whole world of AI adoption.
Ursula von der Leyen stated that Europe needs to focus on a unique approach to artificial intelligence development, including a focus on science and technology, adoption in complex apps using its wealth of industrial manufacturing data, and bringing together talent from different countries and sectors. She also said that the EU wants to ensure every innovative European company has the ability to access the AI power it needs through supercomputers and to replicate the collaborative success of CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The mentioned statements are further evidence of the importance of artificial intelligence as an advanced technology of modernity. AI has already demonstrated impressive abilities, including those related to processing huge amounts of information and generating original content. Moreover, artificial intelligence has huge potential. Some futurological forecasts suggest that AI will surpass the human mind in terms of cognitive abilities in the course of its technological evolution.
As we have reported earlier, Saudi Arabia Announces $14.9B AI Investment.
