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Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe AISBL

CAIRNE

The CAIRNE (previously CLAIRE) initiative aims to establish a pan-European network of Centres of Excellence in AI, strategically located throughout Europe, and a new, central facility with state-of-the-art, “Google-scale”, CERN for AI-like infrastructure – the CAIRNE Hub – that will promote new and existing talent and provide a focal point for exchange and interaction of researchers at all stages of their careers, across all areas of AI.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Requirements for Artificial Intelligence

6 Aug 2021

CLAIRE welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback and supports the European Commission's drive towards a balance between regulation and innovation, where citizens’ rights are well protected, while facilitating investment and innovation. However, we find that the sum of the initiatives, as they are currently planned, does not achieve this balance. We see five major issues: - The proposed regulation shows a problematic focus on a particular, flawed definition of AI technologies. We believe that regulation of technology is important, but that the focus should be on the uses and applications of technology, rather than on a specific set of technologies that are being used. AI technology evolves, and even experts disagree which technologies fall within the scope of AI. Regulation aimed at ensuring the responsible use of AI should therefore be as technology-neutral as possible. - The proposed regulation is too broad and vague to effectively boost the impactful development and use of "AI made in Europe", and to strengthen, rather than weaken, the global competitiveness of the EU economy. - The proposed regulation does not achieve a reasonable balance between cost, investments and effects for companies, governments and society. It places a regulatory burden on the European economy that is particularly challenging for SMEs, startups and micro-enterprises, while other elements of the coordinate plans do not provide effective instruments to offset this burden. - The proposed regulation is vague on implications to citizens' rights and provides exceptions in government uses of AI that are likely to negatively impact citizens. - The coordinated plan is lacking key mechanisms for ensuring global relevance and leadership of "AI made in Europe". It encompasses a vast array of instruments and mechanisms, each of which is rather modestly funded in relation to the ambitious goals of the plan. The plan lacks coordination between these mechanisms. It also lacks large-scale signature initiatives that can address key challenges within the fragmented European AI ecosystem. Overall, CLAIRE believes the intention underlying the proposed regulation is good, but that it does not achieve the intended upsides, while creating downsides of serious concern. Likewise, the coordinated plan, of which the proposed regulation forms an integral part, is pursuing worthwhile and achievable goals, but the level of funding and the array of mechanisms currently foreseen is insufficient for realising the ambition of European leadership in key areas and applications of AI and carries major risks of Europe falling further behind the fast-moving global leaders. The official feedback from CLAIRE to the European Commission first comments on key aspects of the proposed regulation (Section 2), then discusses the revised version of the coordinated action plan (Section 3), and finally provides some high-level conclusions and a brief outlook on future engagement with the European AI strategy (Section 4). CLAIRE deliberately addresses the proposed regulation as well as the coordinated plan, since the former is a key element of the latter (see Chapter 9 of the coordinated plan), and regulation related to AI interacts with other elements of the European AI strategy as outlined in the coordinated plan.
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Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

30 Nov 2018 · AI Research in Europe