European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a broad initiative to mold the EU into a global AI leader through its new AI Continent Action Plan. Announced with connected policy proposals 9 April, the action plan aims to "shape the next phase of AI development, boosting economic growth, and strengthening (EU) competitiveness."
The action is based on five foundational pillars, including "developing algorithms and fostering AI adoption in strategic EU sectors" and "regulatory simplification." Specifically with simplified rules, the Commission plans to launch an AI Act Service Desk to help compliance efforts and "serve as the central point of contact and hub for information and guidance on the AI Act."
Among the supporting initiatives are the European AI Office's call for evidence and launching of a public consultation on its new Apply AI Strategy, to be released later this year, and the European Commission opening a public consultation on the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act.
Inside the plan
Outlined by von der Leyen at the Paris AI Action Summit in February, the AI Continent Action Plan calls for mobilizing 200 billion euros for AI investment, building 13 AI factories in Europe to support startups, industry and researchers to develop advanced AI models and applications using its supercomputing network; building five AI gigafactories supported by large quantities of computing power and data centers, and raising 20 billion euros worth of private investment for gigafactories.
A key element of the action plan is promoting the integration of AI in the public and private sectors through the Apply AI Strategy. Once published, the document will serve as a blueprint for strategic economic sectors in the EU to fully adopt AI technology. Currently, only 13.5% of EU businesses use AI, according to the Commission.
The Apply AI Strategy public consultation closes 4 June and the European AI Office hopes to receive feedback on what AI integration looks like across key sectors. Notably, the consultation will also focus on "specific questions on the challenges in the AI Act implementation process" with an eye toward "how the Commission and Member States can support stakeholders better in the implementation of the legislation."
Additionally, as part the Apply AI Strategy, the AI Office will open a separate public consultation on how the Strategy applies to the European Strategy for AI in Science, beginning 10 April.
With respect to the action plan, the proposed Cloud AI Development Act aims to drive private investment in cloud and data centers in an effort to triple EU data center capacity within five to seven years.
The Cloud and AI Development Act consultation also closes 4 June and seeks to obtain stakeholder views on EU cloud capacity, given the increased computing power demands caused by the AI boom, and learn about the intersection of the cloud and AI. The Commission also hopes to learn how public entities procure cloud-based services to help develop an EU-wide cloud policy for public agencies to obtain cloud services.
The European Tech Alliance issued a statement applauding the formal establishment of the overarching AI strategy, but added how the Commission ultimately puts the strategy's policies into action will determine its success or failure as a caveat.
“We welcome the Commission's willingness to make the AI Act 'clear' and 'easy to apply,' but clarity must come fast," European Tech Alliance Secretary Victoria de Posson said in statement. "Simplification is not optional, it is overdue."
"Simplifying compliance is essential: every euro spent on overlapping rules is a euro not invested in innovation," de Posson continued. "European tech has already begun to comply, let's make sure that effort is not wasted."
DigitalEurope opined the action plan's attempt to simplify regulation needs to begin "with a leaner AI Act that avoids a (EU General Data Protection Regulation)-style patchwork and enables companies to operate smoothly across borders." It added that the overall plan is a "pragmatic, business-oriented approach" and "is exactly what Europe needs to help AI companies grow, scale, and compete globally."
Alex LaCasse is a staff writer for the IAPP.
