– The decision to invest EUR 200 billion in artificial intelligence was made too late – says Dr. Maciej Kawecki, president of the Lem Institute. As he emphasizes, Europe lags behind the United States and China in terms of innovation. The pace and method of distributing funds are now crucial – if they are transferred too late, the effects of the investment may become outdated in the dynamically developing world of AI. Other postulates concern the cessation of regulation and focusing on technological niches in which we are leaders.
In mid-February this year, at the AI summit in Paris, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the launch of a new initiative, InvestAI, which is to mobilise a total of EUR 200 billion for investment in the development of this technology, including the creation of a new EU fund of EUR 20 billion for AI gigafactories, which will specialise in training the most complex, very large artificial intelligence models, to the benefit of, among others, the industrial sector. – We want to repeat the success story of the CERN laboratory in Geneva. We are providing infrastructure for high computing power. Scientists, entrepreneurs and investors will be able to join forces. Talent from all over the world is welcome. Industries will be able to cooperate and combine their data – the politician announced.
– This decision was announced much too late, but of course better late than never – says Dr. Maciej Kawecki, president of the Lem Institute, director of the Merito Innovation Center at WSB University in Warsaw.
– Now the question arises how these funds will be distributed. If they are distributed according to the standard EU path, they will reach start-ups only in a year, and we will see the effects of their spending in two years. Then AI will be in a completely different place, we will be in the area of so-called free reasoning artificial intelligence, i.e. one that makes abstract decisions. The world will undoubtedly change, and we will still be behind.
According to a recent report, “The future of European competitiveness” by Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, the European Union faces a serious challenge in terms of technological competitiveness. Today, only four of the world’s 50 largest technology companies have their roots in Europe, which is a sign of the EU’s declining position in the global technology sector. In the decade from 2013 to 2023, Europe’s share of global technology revenues fell from 22% to 18%, while the United States’ share rose from 30% to 38%. Of the world’s most important AI solutions, only a handful have so far been developed in the European Union. This shows the scale of the problem – Europe is not only not a leader in AI, but also does not play a significant role in the global technology race, lagging far behind the US and China.
– The European Union should stop introducing further regulations on AI. We already have the AI Act, which sets the framework and ethical boundaries. Now we should focus on investing and spending funds, on development, scientific and research work and finding areas in which the EU can be a leader. Artificial intelligence is not this area. This does not mean that we should stop investing in AI, but we are no longer able to become a global leader – says Dr. Maciej Kawecki.
Europe still lacks strong players in the AI market. Tools such as ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google) were created in the United States, and most of the key AI solutions are currently being developed by American corporations. According to Mario Draghi's report, 61% of the total global funding for AI startups goes to American companies, 17% to those in China, and only 6% to European companies.
– Our regulations are treated as a high-risk factor by investment funds and Silicon Valley investors. The European Union is associated with regulation, not innovation – says the president of the Lem Institute.
Legal restrictions and a lack of a clear investment strategy mean that innovative European start-ups often move to the United States, where they receive better development conditions. According to Draghi's report, between 2008 and 2021, 147 so-called unicorns were created in Europe, i.e. start-ups whose value exceeded $ 1 billion. 40 of them moved their headquarters abroad, and the vast majority to the United States.
– The European Union has slept through the development of artificial intelligence, there is no doubt about it – says Dr. Maciej Kawecki – Due to the focus on regulations, dependence on the United States, due to the lack of development of our own AI tools, we have definitely slept through this area. What we need today is the development of AI tools that will allow us to participate in global dialogue, for example, and focusing on the development of technologies that give us the chance to be a leader.
The expert points out that the answer to this problem should now be not only increased, rapid investments in AI, but also the development of quantum technologies.
– The only area where it is not too late is the development of quantum computers, quantum cryptography and quantum clouds. This is an area where Europe is still a leader in the world. And what is happening in Finland and is starting to happen in Poland, in the area of creating a quantum computer by digital troops, definitely gives us a chance to be this leader – says the director of the WSB University Innovation Center Merito in Warsaw. – What we need today is the development of AI tools that will allow us to participate in global dialogue, for example, and to focus on the development of technologies that give us a chance to be a leader. The only such technology today is the development of quantum computers.
