The first meeting of the European Network of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Excellence Centres ("AI Network") took place at the beginning of October 2020. The AI Network's motto is: "the whole is more than the sum of its parts", which sets the tone for future developments and cooperation in the area of AI. Currently the AI Network consists of five main projects:

  • AI4Media: a consortium comprising 30 leading partners in the areas of AI and media (nine universities, nine research centres, 12 industrial partners) aimed at creating next generation AI able to serve media and making sure that the European values of ethical and trustworthy AI are embedded in future AI deployments;
  • ELISE: a network of AI research hubs coordinated by Aalto University inviting all ways of reasoning, considering all types of data applicable for almost all sectors of science and industry;
  • HumanE-AI-Net: a network of partners within the AI-related area aimed at enabling technologies for human-level interaction to empower individuals and society, by providing new abilities to perceive and understand complex phenomena, to individually and collectively solve problems, and to empower individuals with new abilities for creativity and experience;
  • TAILOR: a project aimed at creating a strong academic-public-industrial research network, reducing the fragmentation of AI hubs and increasing the joint AI research capacity of Europe, helping it to take the lead and advance the state-of-the-art in trustworthy AI;
  • VISION: a project aiming to foster the exchange of information between the selected projects and other relevant initiatives, ensuring synergies and overcoming fragmentation in the European AI community.

The common goal of the AI Network is to support and make the most of the AI potential already available in Europe, to connect world-class AI researchers in order to establish a common vision, and to promote the exchange of knowledge, experience and research outcomes. Currently, the EU legal initiatives related to AI are rather theoretical and mostly revolve around ethical values. Hopefully, thanks to the AI Network and its research, the legislative work carried out in the EU will be more efficient, practical and valuable for the attempts to properly regulate the various aspects of AI.

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