The European Union held its first-ever artificial intelligence summit in Dublin on Friday, with leaders hearing calls to accelerate development and investment to compete with the US and China.
Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI company Mistral, told EU leaders the bloc has "all the technology and the talent to lead the AI race" but needs "speed, financing and a strong coordination between member states." He urged them to "act now."
European Council President Antonio Costa said the EU must "make the most of its benefits, from higher productivity to better public services" while managing risks and helping set global standards for "responsible governance and safe, human-centric AI."
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola rejected the idea that Europe has fallen behind. She said the EU has "world-class talent, technological expertise and industrial experience to lead in AI" and called for ensuring European ideas have the financing to grow.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas raised security concerns. "We can all already see this in the battlefield in Ukraine, where you have drones equipped by artificial intelligence," she said at the event.
Estonia and Finland wrote to summit organizers ahead of the meeting calling for the EU to "establish EU-level arrangements for responding to serious AI incidents" and develop AI while "governing it responsibly."