Written by Maria Niestadt.
The EU has made significant progress towards trustworthy and ethical artificial intelligence that puts people first. In June 2024, the EU co-legislators signed the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the first horizontal legislation regulating AI systems. The focus is now shifting to bolstering the EU’s position in AI innovation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised to establish AI factories within the first 100 days of her term. AI factories will give companies and researchers access to the EU’s supercomputers, tailored to AI needs.
AI factories bring together three essential components: supercomputers, data and human capital. The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking plays a pivotal role in this initiative, providing the necessary supercomputing infrastructure and covering half of the acquisition and operation costs of AI-optimised supercomputers as well as half of the cost of the services provided by AI factories. Seven consortia across the EU were selected to establish these factories, in Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece. Further proposals for AI factories are expected in February 2025.
AI factories contribute to the EU’s strategic autonomy and support AI start-ups, industry and academia by enabling AI development and innovation in the EU while helping to reduce AI model training time and costs. They also facilitate access to data, help to develop the necessary skills and provide professional support services. However, challenges remain, such as making the process of applying for computing resources as smooth as possible, continuing to improve the energy efficiency of supercomputers and associated data centres, ensuring timely access to state-of-the-art AI chips, and advancing quickly with the establishment of AI factories. If addressed successfully, AI factories have the potential to enhance AI innovation in the EU. At the same time, it is essential to act on other fronts, such as improving the EU’s cloud-computing infrastructure.
Read the complete briefing on ‘AI factories‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
Comments are closed for this post.