"Worried about reliance on the US, fearful of falling behind China", the EU needs to come up with its own AI plan

In recent years, the competitive situation between China and the US has made the EU very anxious, fearing that it may fall behind China and the US in technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).

According to a report by the UK's Financial Times on October 5, after the Trump administration came into power, the EU is eager to change the current "reliance on the US, falling behind China" status quo in AI development. Currently, the EU is preparing to launch a new plan aimed at promoting local AI platforms and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers, in order to compete with China and the US in the global revolutionary technology competition.

A draft proposal seen by the Financial Times shows that the European Commission's proposed "AI Application Strategy" will promote European native AI tools to provide "security and resilience," while also enhancing the competitiveness of EU industries.

It is introduced that the strategy emphasizes the need to improve the use of AI in areas such as healthcare, defense, and manufacturing in Europe.

The draft states that the European Commission aims to "strengthen the EU's AI sovereignty" by accelerating the development and use of indigenous AI technologies, including formulating policies to "accelerate the adoption of European scalable and replicable generative AI solutions in public administrations."

The report states that this strategy will be presented by EU Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen on the 7th, and the specific content may change before being made public.

The draft warns that the current "external dependency" of the EU in the AI technology stack may be "weaponized" by "other countries and non-state actors," posing a risk to the EU's AI supply chain. The AI technology stack refers to the infrastructure and software required to build, train, and manage AI applications.

The draft also mentions that EU public administrations play a central role in "helping AI start-ups grow by increasing demand for European-made open-source AI solutions."

The Financial Times pointed out that these concerns have intensified since Trump returned to the presidency of the United States. There is widespread attention within the EU on the current situation of reliance on US technology, and there is an increased call for European digital independence. At the same time, China's rapid development of AI is challenging the US's global leadership in the field, which makes the EU very anxious, fearing a significant reduction in its influence over this technology in the future.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845195815307271/

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