While being a leading world region when it comes to regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI), Europe has accumulated delays in creating a fertile ecosystem for investment and innovation in this crucial domain for economic competitiveness, strategic autonomy and democratic resilience.
To remedy this situation, several proposals have been presented for an ambitious initiative that catalyses research and innovation around trustworthy AI solutions made in Europe and according to European values and principles. Among them, the proposal tabled in March 2024 by the Scientific Advice Mechanism of the European Commission, part of DG Research and Innovation, to create a ‘CERN for AI in Science’; the long-standing ‘AI moonshot’ proposed by the Confederation of Laboratories of AI Research in Europe (CLAIRE), now backed by several other associations; and the proposal to create a Sovereign Tech Fund for Europe’s Digital Public Infrastructure.
This CEPS In-Depth Analysis paper presents a possible initiative that combines these proposals into one single large-scale endeavour and discusses the main conditions through which such a proposal could be an attractive prospect, at a time when restoring competitiveness and achieving technological sovereignty have become major priorities for EU leaders.
About the Author:
Andrea Renda is Director of Research at CEPS since 1 November 2023. He also leads the CEPS Unit on Global Governance, Regulation, Innovation and the Digital Economy (GRID).