Europe’s Push to be the “Third Way” in Artificial Intelligence
Matthew Gupta
Tech Editor
As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, the United States and China have emerged as dominant forces in its research and adoption. Now, Europe is making a bold push to establish itself as the third powerhouse in the global AI race. It hopes to do so while still maintaining its strong regulations on AI.
The EU recently launched InvestAI at its Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in early February. The initiative was passed under the pretense of improving healthcare, bolstering research efforts, and improving competitiveness in the space, according to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen from Germany. The initiative sets aside 20 billion Euros for Gigafactories, meant to develop the most complex AI models. It also includes funding to increase education and training initiatives for employee talent, more investment into European AI startups, and the creation of a common data market for the EU in fields such as healthcare, agriculture, and finance.
Individual EU nations have also made their own pushes to be the center of AI development in Europe. Attempting to cement itself as a third power of Artificial Intelligence development, President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to invest 109 billion Euros over multiple years into private AI companies. France has repeatedly declared its competitive advantages, such as the presence of many large technology companies and low-cost low-carbon nuclear energy. Other nations have followed suit, such as Germany, who boasts more startup investment with 9.4 billion Euros invested, along with billions more from tech giants including Microsoft and AWS. Some European nations have decided to work together. The Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland are working together through initiatives such as the Nordic Artificial Intelligence Institute.
Despite the hundreds of billions of Euros poured into AI in Europe, there are many challenges Europe must face to have a true impact on the state of Artificial Intelligence. One of the most pressing issues is the lack of innovation, shown by how Europe only held 2% of patents for Artificial Intelligence as of November of 2024. This can be attributed to multiple reasons, but one of the most prominent is the complex regulatory environment in the EU surrounding AI development, such as systematizing the risk levels of AI, focusing on the ethical development and use of AI, and protecting the sensitive information of EU citizens. If Europe wants to develop itself as powerhouse for the new digital age while maintaining its focus on humane development, it is important that the European Union and its member states are able to balance the needs of protecting citizens and promoting growth, lest it becomes relegated in its role on the world stage of science, technology, and ultimately politics.
Contact Matthew at matthew.gupta@student.shu.edu