The European Commission together with Member States, Norway and Switzerland have prepared a Coordinated Plan to foster the development and use of AI in Europe.

The plan is part of the EU Strategy on Artificial Intelligence (AI) adopted in April 2018 and aims to making Europe a world-leading region for developing and deploying cutting-edge, ethical and secure AI.

A closer and more efficient cooperation will focus on specific actions to:

-  Maximise investments through partnerships 

- Create European data spaces

- Nurture talent, skills and life-long learning

- Develop ethical and trustworthy AI

Being a living document, the plan will be updated on an annual basis, to  reflect a continuous coordination among Member States and the European Commission. Its implementation along with the general AI developments fostered in Europe will be monitored by the new AI knowledge service, AI Watch.

A European vision on AI

The vision of the European Commission on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is summarised in the relevant Communication, published today together with the Coordinated Plan. According to this vision, Europe will increase its industrial competitiveness in AI and stand out in the international scene by being “ethical by design”. In this frame, fundamental EU values, societal needs, inclusion and environmental sustainability are given a special accent.

Link with the AI HLEG

Section F of the Coordinated Plan recalls that the High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG) has been appointed by the Commission to develop draft AI Ethics Guidelines, of which a first draft will be ready in December 2018.  As mentioned in a previous blogpost, the draft will be published on the European AI Alliance platform on 18 December and undergo a stakeholder consultation until 18 January. The Commission specifically acknowledges that spearheading the ethics agenda, while fostering innovation, has the potential to become a competitive advantage for European businesses on the global marketplace.

Being a crucial topic in the Coordinated Plan, Ethical and Trustworthy AI will be further discussed jointly by the AI HLEG and Member States.

More Information

Press release

Coordinated plan on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Communication

Q&A on coordinated plan

Factsheet on artificial intelligence

More on: €66 million for robotics hubs

Press release Communication Artificial Intelligence for Europe (April)

Press release: expert group on artificial intelligence (March)

Q&A European Approach to AI

Declaration of cooperation on Artificial intelligence

More information on AI