This is the technology of the future, or rather, it is already the technology of today. But Europe is already experiencing a chronic lag compared to its global strategic rivals China and the United States. We are talking about artificial intelligence, which Brussels is trying to regulate but has not yet mobilized sufficient investment.
The critical point of investment
There is a huge gap between capital investments in artificial intelligence (AI) in Washington and Beijing and those in Brussels. In 2022 alone, China earned around 5 billion compared to 10 billion for the People’s Republic and 50 billion for its transatlantic ally. To avoid being left behind in international competition that is already centralizing artificial intelligence, many governing authorities, including France and Germany, say there is a delay that must be filled as soon as possible.
And at the European level, there is no time to wait for public investments, perhaps with community funds: the Energy Minister said for months: “There is capital, companies are offering interesting models, but we cannot wait five years for investment” before ‘Berlin Economy, Robert Habeck. Habeck said at the tripartite summit in Rome last October that instead it was necessary to resort to different plans “to unlock the private capital of companies” and that the main actors should be Germany, France and Italy.
Standardize AI
On the other hand, if the mobilization of investments (public and private) is slow, it should be said that the European Union is the first regulator in the world to introduce a complex set of laws aimed at regulating a sector such as the artificial intelligence sector. Like all technological innovations, it is developing too fast for politics to keep up.
When the package is renamed Artificial Intelligence ActBrussels outlined two main lines of intervention: encouraging the development of this technology but also protecting both individual users and democracies as a whole. The key is the so-called “risk-based approach”: the higher the risk that certain applications pose to the stability of social and state systems, the stricter will be the rules that these applications must comply with. Security, privacy and transparency are among the key concepts of the “world’s first law on artificial intelligence”, which combines innovation with the fight against discrimination and leaves the police with a certain room for maneuver in the prosecution of a certain type of crime.
Court’s (partial) rejection
Be that as it may, the view recently expressed by the European Court of Auditors, the Union’s Luxembourg-based financial supervisory body, was not very encouraging for the European regulatory framework (at least the view before the ratification of the European Union).Artificial Intelligence Act but will not come into force before 2026).
“The EU has so far achieved little success in developing an AI ecosystem in Europe and has failed to accelerate investment in AI at a pace comparable to world leaders,” we read in a report published at the end of May. The Court appreciates a number of efforts in the right direction, from regulations (taking into account the risks, as we said) to technical infrastructures and research.
However, the measures implemented by Brussels “were not well coordinated with those of member states and the monitoring of investments was not systematic”. According to the report, it is vital to implement “stronger governance and more significant (and targeted) public and private investments” to make the Twenty-Seven bloc competitive in the race with China and the United States.
In short, we need to put more money into this and do it smartly. According to ECA member Mihails Kozlovs, who led the audit, “Significant and targeted investment in artificial intelligence is a crucial factor determining the pace of economic growth of the EU in the coming years.” Investment targets need to be updated because they are vague and outdated six years after their original formulation (that was in 2018). While the court approved increased spending on artificial intelligence research in the community budget, what was missing was strong co-financing of private investments.
Kozlovs added: “There is a risk of winner-take-all in the race for artificial intelligence. If the EU is to achieve its goals, the European Commission and member states must join forces more effectively, accelerate the pace and remove obstacles to the EU’s success in this great ongoing technological revolution.” It has the potential to happen.” Therefore, among the slogans, there is definitely a coordination between various actors and levels to provide a real overview and give “credibility” to the bloc’s plans in the field of artificial intelligence.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
