European Union leaders are meeting in Dublin for the first summit dedicated to artificial intelligence, looking for ways to close the gap with the United States and China. The meeting comes at a turbulent time for the sector, following the resignation of Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, one of the central figures in the development of artificial intelligence.
Funding, bureaucracy and safeguards on the agenda
The discussions focus on financing, removing bureaucratic barriers and putting safeguards in place for a technology that is transforming the economy and society.
In the invitation letter he sent last week, President of the European Council António Costa wrote: “Given the very rapid pace of development of artificial intelligence, I believe that a first discussion dedicated specifically to this subject, at leaders’ level, is now necessary, on the opportunities it offers but also on its transformative impact on our economies and societies.”
Briefings from Mistral AI and Geoffrey Hinton
The leaders are being briefed by Arthur Mensch, chief executive of Mistral AI, and Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning pioneer of artificial intelligence.
Funding and infrastructure remain the main obstacles
The EU’s ambition to play a stronger role in artificial intelligence is running into difficulties with funding and with carrying out critical investments.
The European Chips Act came into effect three years ago. It aims to attract advanced manufacturing facilities and to double the EU’s share of the global semiconductor market to 20% by 2030. Whether these targets will be met remains uncertain.
The plan to create seven AI “gigafactories” has also not yet fully progressed. These facilities would bring together advanced AI processors, software, cloud technologies, high-speed connections and data centres.
The plan has stalled because member states disagree over funding competitiveness through the EU budget for 2028-2034.
Ukraine added to the agenda
Ukraine has been added to the summit’s agenda as a second key topic.
The discussion takes place one day after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Before that, they had held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
According to a senior EU official cited by Reuters, the leaders are expected to discuss Europe’s participation in the peace negotiations and the security guarantees the Union could offer in the event of a ceasefire.
With information from Reuters
