OUR WORLD - Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence

PERSPECTIVES ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
opportunities Artificial Intelligence represents. Indeed, the
recent years have seen the end of inaction and the EU is
now catching up with the ‘big giants’. Positive developments
include the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence published by
the Commission and the set-up of a new Special Committee
on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA) by the European
Parliament. The latter recently adopted reports on ethical
aspects, civil liability regime and intellectual property rights.
SHUTTERSTOCK
I believe this is the right direction for citizens of the European
Union.
On top of this, the Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the
importance for EU Member States and the European Union
in general to boost its investments in several areas in order
to remain an epicenter of the geopolitical chessboard and a
place for innovation and economic growth.
Concerning economic perspectives, some progress has
undeniably been made. Nevertheless, we still need to focus
on skills, digital literacy, job creation and to address job
losses and people left behind. Digital inequalities are a more
important than ever.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of
the European economy. They are the most challenged when
new policies come into force and are a spring for innovation
and growth. The EU Member States and institutions have kept
this in mind, with plans to accompany SMEs to adapt their
procedures, their business models and their ways of working
using AI.However, much remains to be done in order to make
this shared vision a reality. Most notably, the necessity to
have a clear and comprehensive framework is evident. A
potentially complex regulatory framework will be much
harder to digest for European SMEs, which lack extensive law
departments compared to global players. Therefore, further
actions are needed to bridge that gap. Digital Innovation Hubs
and Regulatory Sandboxes can represent in that regard a
positive development, and administrative burden reduction
policies should be a priority on our agenda.
Also, I believe it is necessary to provide start-ups and SMEs
access with the widest possible range of data and algorithm
libraries as the lack of such a possibility is slowing down their
development, which may eventually not be fast enough to
challenge their international competitors. Available data,
together with its usability, accessibility and interoperability,
is essential for a « culture of data » to grow in the European
Union. The fragmentation of European data has long
prevented access to available data, with each Member State
tending to work on its own national data plan. This contrasts
with China, whose population and country size have early on
encouraged cloud and data storage practices.
In addition to SMEs, Artificial Intelligence could also better
connect and mutually benefit the public sector. Strengthening
collaboration between the public sector and the small and
medium enterprises can take many forms. I have for instance
proposed a few months ago a pilot project with fellow
MEPs establishing the « EU GovTech platform », designed
to bring the best out of well-functioning national GovTech
frameworks to the benefit of the entire single market. These
frameworks enable the aggregation of EU and national public
institutions’ demand for modern technologies. This means
increasing access of EU’s innovative companies to the public
procurement market.
We, as European lawmakers, will require strenuous efforts
to deliver innovation-friendly and future-proof Single Market
legislation that remains both understandable for citizens
and flexible for businesses. This is also our priority in AIDA
committee. The environment in which we find ourselves
represents an opportunity for lawmakers and national
leaders to prove how serious we are in supporting SMEs.
This is not only an economic matter, defining the directions
we want to lead our economies. These questions are also
intrinsically linked to a global scene in which the EU is trying to
make a stand. That is why we need to step up our efforts, as
AI, its framework and its development in the coming years will
undeniably play a part in defining tomorrow’s global order.
<strong>OUR</strong> <strong>WORLD</strong> | January 2021
25