EU to set up network of ‘AI factories’ and ‘gigafactories’ as part of newly unveiled action plan | Technology News
The European Union has unveiled an action plan for the development of the AI industry, vowing to “transform Europe’s strong traditional industries and its exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration.”
The ‘AI Continent Action Plan’ was announced the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, in a press release on Wednesday, April 9. These actions come amid criticism from tech industry players and other stakeholders, who have argued that the EU’s regulations are overly burdensome and could stifle innovation in the sector.
“Achieving our ambitions in AI will require leadership both in developing and using AI. It entails sustained investment in infrastructure (including computing power and networks), alongside advances in model development, and broad adoption across the economy,” the plan reads.
Story continues below this ad
The plan seeks to help Europe’s AI industry compete more aggressively with the US and China ramping up domestic AI infrastructure. “The EU currently lags behind the US and China in terms of available data centre capacity, relying heavily on infrastructure installed in and controlled other regions of the world, that EU users access via the cloud,” it notes.
As part of its efforts to bolster AI progress in the region, the EU has announced plans to build a network of ‘AI factories’ and ‘AI gigafactories’. These factories are defined as large-scale facilities that house state-of-the-art graphics processing units (GPUs) that offer the computing power required to develop and train cutting-edge AI models.
It is also looking to establish research centres focused on making high-quality training data more accessible to startups in the region. The bloc has also said it will create a new entity known as the AI Act Service Desk to help regional firms comply with its landmark AI Act.
“The upcoming AI Act Service Desk will be a central point of contact for businesses seeking information and guidance,” the European Commission said.Story continues below this ad
Navigating the provisions of the EU’s AI law has emerged as a thorny issue among AI companies operating in the region. It stipulates obligations for all AI applications based on the level of risk they pose to society. The foundational models developed the likes of OpenAI, Google, and French startup Mral fall in the category of General Purpose AI Models (GPAIs).
Last year, the EU proposed a Code of Practice for developers of GPAI as part of the draft rules meant to implement the AI Act. The draft Code requires these companies to release detailed information about the general purpose AI models, including “information on data used for training, testing and validation” and the results of the testing processes that the AI models were subjected to.
It also proposes requiring GPAI developers to bring in outside experts for independent testing and risk assessment of general purpose AI tools.
The legislation’s focus on tackling risks associated with AI has raised concerns among political and business leaders that Europe could miss out on harnessing the potential of AI.Story continues below this ad
“There’s almost this fork in the road, maybe even a tension right now between Europe at the EU level … and then some of the countries. They’re looking to maybe go in a little bit of a different direction that actually wants to embrace the innovation,” OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane was quoted as saying CNBC in February this year.
