The European Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, is considering large investments in artificial intelligence (AI) research under the “CERN for AI” banner. This strategy references the success of CERN in shifting Europe’s focus to nuclear research after World War II. The proposals suggest investing €100 billion over five to seven years, exceeding the Commission’s current Horizon Europe budget. Some experts are pleased with this development but express the need for specific details. Europe lags behind the US in AI development and computing power. Proposals include a European AI Research Council, either funded through the Commission or by member states. The Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) suggested a “European Distributed Institute for AI” with dedicated funding. Some think tanks propose a collaboration on trustworthy AI for €100 to €120 billion over seven years. While some argue for immediate large-scale investment, others suggest gradual increases in the budget. Microsoft and OpenAI plan a single gigantic data center costing up to $100 billion. The European Parliament has formed a joint working group to monitor AI Act implementation.
Source: https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/von-der-leyen-gives-nod-to-e100-billion-cern-for-ai-proposal/