Regions and cities want the EU Artificial Intelligence Act to promote start-ups' and SMEs’ access to supercomputing and agile funding for ethical use

Strengthening Europe's leadership in responsible artificial intelligence (AI) requires specific attention to the role of start-ups and SMEs and the mobilisation of local and regional authorities in building public trust towards new applications.

During the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary session of 9 October, regional and local leaders adopted an opinion drafted by Emil Boc (RO/EPP), mayor of Cluj-Napoca, that emphasises the relevance of the EU recent AI legislation, making the Union the first major entity to legislate to ensure the ethical and sustainable use of AI. However, CoR members called for additional measures and a flexible application of the AI Act to make the Union a world leader in the development of AI.

CoR members emphasised that, to boost innovation at a large scale in the EU, it is crucial to facilitate access to supercomputing infrastructure for European start-ups and SMEs. Reducing bureaucracy, increasing transparency, and providing more flexible access will give these companies the necessary conditions to compete globally in AI development.

Funding for start-ups in the AI sector must be rapid, incentivise initial investment, and offer post-launch support, accepting the risk of failure as part of success, local and regional leaders advocated. They said adapting and extending programmes such as Regional Innovation Valleys or Digital Innovation Hubs, could strengthen European companies to be competitive in a global market. 

Regions and cities argued that local authorities are crucial to developing an innovative and reliable local based AI ecosystem in the European Union. Additionally, to promote multi-level governance, they proposed including local representatives on the board of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (Euro HPC), a joint initiative between the EU, European countries and private partners. 

The Committee called for developing interregional AI projects that connect cross-border resources with the support of EU funding mechanisms such as the European Regional Development Fund. It emphasised the creation of regional talent hubs, in partnership with universities, to retain and attract AI specialists. 

Finally, the CoR members highlighted that in a constantly changing technological environment, the development of AI in the EU must ensure transparency, accountability, equity and be aligned with European ethical values. 

Quote: 

Rapporteur Emil Boc (RO/EPP), mayor of Cluj-Napoca Municipality: "AI is improving incredibly fast and has the potential to change our lives in the fields of health education and so many others but it also carries potential risks and existential threats. AI shapes industries, drives innovation and changes how we think about the future. We need to shift our policy-making focus from attempting to restrict it to learn how to benefit from it. The EU has the unique opportunity to lower the cost of AI development by making its unique network of high performance computers available to a wider public.  We must create the conditions for AI to serve all humanity and not just the privileged few. AI is just not about building machines, it's about enhancing humanity and improving lives. The future depends on how we approach it.”

 Background:

 European Approach to Artificial Intelligence - Artificial Intelligence Act (CoR Opinion, 2021).