EU Unveils €1 Billion Strategy to Boost AI Adoption and Reduce Foreign Dependence

Reviewed byNidhi Govil

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The European Commission has announced a €1 billion plan to accelerate AI adoption in key industries, aiming to reduce reliance on US and Chinese technologies. The 'Apply AI' strategy targets critical sectors and promotes European-made AI solutions.

EU's Bold Move to Boost AI Adoption and Sovereignty

The European Commission has unveiled an ambitious €1 billion ($1.1 billion) plan to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in key European industries. This strategic initiative, dubbed the 'Apply AI' strategy, aims to reduce the European Union's reliance on US and Chinese technologies while promoting homegrown AI solutions

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Source: Economic Times

Source: Economic Times

Targeting Critical Sectors

The Apply AI strategy focuses on several critical sectors, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, mobility, manufacturing, construction, agri-food, defense, communications, and culture

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. The European Commission aims to drive an 'AI first' mindset across these industries, encouraging companies to consider AI tools when tackling problems

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Source: euronews

Source: euronews

Concrete Measures and Funding

The strategy includes specific measures such as:

  1. Setting up AI-powered advanced screening centers in healthcare for more accurate diagnoses

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  2. Developing agentic AI in manufacturing, climate, and pharmaceutical industries

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  3. Accelerating the development and deployment of European AI-enabled command and control capacities in defense

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The €1 billion funding will primarily come from existing EU research projects such as Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme

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Strengthening EU AI Sovereignty

A key aspect of the strategy is to strengthen EU AI sovereignty by accelerating the development and use of homemade artificial intelligence technologies. This includes policies to promote European scalable and replicable generative AI solutions in public administrations

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Addressing the AI Gap

The EU is currently lagging behind the United States and China in AI innovation and investment. In 2024, while the EU's primary funding tool for advanced technologies allocated €256 million, the US invested over $6 billion for the same purpose

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Challenges and Concerns

The strategy acknowledges the potential risks associated with external dependencies on the AI stack, warning that these can be weaponized by both state and non-state actors, posing risks to supply chains

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Future Outlook

The European Commission has set an ambitious target for 75% of EU businesses to use AI by 2030, up from just 13% in the previous year

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. This strategy, along with other initiatives like building AI gigafactories and tripling data center capacity, demonstrates the EU's commitment to competing in the global AI race while promoting European-made solutions.

Source: France 24

Source: France 24

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