Europe’s weaknesses, opportunities facing the AI revolution

From the regulatory approach currently under discussion to the geopolitical risks of AI, Europe’s challenges vis-a-vis Artificial Intelligence are many. The think thank network PromethEUs presented its paper on AI on Tuesday (14 November), focusing on the EU’s AI Act, generative AI, and AI and businesses.

The network includes four Southern European think tanks: the Institute for Competitiveness from Italy, the Elcano Royal Institute from Spain, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research from Greece, and the Institute of Public Policy from Portugal.

For the presentation of its latest study, experts and stakeholders gathered in Brussels to discuss the possible road ahead for Europe’s future competitiveness in this field.

AI Act

The EU’s AI Act is a flagship legislative proposal and the world’s first attempt to regulate Artificial Intelligence on a risk-based approach.

“The definition of AI, as strange as it may sound, is still under discussion in the trilogue”, said Steffen Hoernig, professor at Nova School of Business and Economics, adding that it is important to “be able to decide which type of systems fall under the AI Act”.

Euractiv understands that EU policymakers have been waiting for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to update its definition of AI.

Hoernig said that discussions are ongoing about the file, such as under which risk category biometric AI belongs, or the establishment of an AI Board or an AI Office. National positions differ, especially on the latter, Hoerning noted.

He said a “big issue” is the question of foundational models and the general purpose of AI, pointing out that ChatGPT was introduced after the proposal was drafted so it is not covered in the text.

Last Friday, Euractiv reported that France and Germany, under pressure from their leading AI startups, were pushing against obligations for foundation models, leading to strong political frictions with MEPs, who want to regulate these models.

Hoering believes that “national interests in some countries are taking priority over the interests of the EU” when it comes to the regulation and that the “question of how we should define hyperscale AI systems” remains.

Generative AI

Stefano da Empoli, president of the Institute for Competitiveness, argued that, while generative AI systems like the chatbot ChatGPT may be the most visible to users, the terms also refer to other tools.

The study focuses on Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal, which are at the bottom of the ranking in terms of using generative AI compared to Nordic EU countries. More than a third of the generative AI startups in Europe are located in the UK.

At the same time, da Empoli emphasised that investments in this disruptive technology have been put “slightly on the sidelines” because they are “more in the hands of the member states”.

Raquel Jorge, a policy analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute explained that “in terms of security, what we have identified is that generative AI will present security risks, but we are not quite sure that it will create new threats”, adding that “instead, it looks like it will amplify the existing threats”.

“When it comes down to the dual-use applications of generative AI, there is some doubt about the military usage, ” she said.

Jorge also noted that while it may seem that NATO “keeps away from the EU’s reality”, in July, NATO’s Data and Artificial Intelligence Review Board hosted a private event related to generative AI.

AI and businesses

Aggelos Tsakanikas, an associate professor at the National Technical University of Athens, said they aimed to measure “the impact of AI on businesses for entrepreneurship” and assess “the policies implemented in the four countries of the PromethEUs network”.

The research showed, for example, that there is a shortage of specialists in Spain, while in Greece, there are startup activities related to AI.

Tsakanikas agreed with Hoernig that defining AI is still ongoing but added that it is also a question of how businesses use it.

“We need to have a very strict definition of what exactly we are measuring when we are trying to see the diffusion of AI in the business sector”, he said.

A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis has been conducted for the paper, “discussing all the major issues related to AI”, such as non-qualified workers, political resistance, and economic costs, Tsakanikas explained.

[Edited by Luca Bertuzzi/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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