This report presents a European view of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based on independent research and analysis by the JRC to inform the debate at the European level.

The aim of this report is to provide a balanced assessment of opportunities and challenges of AI from a European perspective, and support the development of European action in the global AI context.

We have organised the report into two sections: in Part 1 we give a brief introduction to AI, and analyse the EU positioning in the global AI landscape, including key features and leading players, research and technological capacity, and areas of strengths. We then consider a few examples of Member States’ policies and strategies to assess points of synergy and where European action can best add value. This is followed by an analysis of AI in China since this country has set out, and could well achieve, the objective of becoming the dominant AI player in the world by 2030, overtaking the US. Whilst we are more familiar with US companies, technologies, and applications we know little about developments in China and for this reason we pay comparatively more attention to China in this report, taking advantage of bespoke research done on this subject for the JRC.

In Part 2 we look at AI from multiple perspectives: ethical, legal, educational, economic, cybersecurity, computing and energy, data-related, and societal resilience. We discuss each perspective in turn but they are intertwined in multiple ways and should be considered all together in framing a European way to the development and use of AI.