The European Commission’s AI Office plays a key role in implementing the AI Act, promoting the ethical use of AI and supporting innovation.
In recent years, rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed various industries, prompting regulators to establish frameworks for its ethical and safe deployment.
At the forefront of this initiative is the European AI Office, responsible for implementing the AI Law throughout the European Union. This office serves as a hub of expertise, guiding the governance of AI technologies and ensuring compliance with established regulations.
By fostering innovation and facilitating the responsible use of AI, the AI Office plays a central role in shaping the European digital landscape, promoting a future in which AI contributes positively to society while mitigating potential risks.
To find out more, The Innovation Platform sat down with the AI Office to discuss its initiatives and the significant impact it aims to have in advancing AI innovation across various sectors.
Can you detail how the AI Office will contribute to the implementation of the AI Act? What are the main units of the AI Office and their respective functions?
The European AI Office is the center of expertise in AI across the EU. He plays a key role in the implementation of the AI law in support the governance bodies of the Member States in their tasks. It also applies rules for general-purpose AI models. This builds on the powers given to the Commission by the AI Act, including the ability to carry out assessments of general purpose AI models, request information and measurements from model providers and apply sanctions.
Furthermore, the AI Office uses its expertise to support the implementation of the AI Law by contributing to the consistent application of the AI Law in the Member States, including the establishment of advisory bodies at EU level, facilitating support and information. exchange.
Additionally, the AI Office develops tools, methodologies and benchmarks to assess the capabilities and scope of general-purpose AI models and classify models with systemic risks. The AI Office is also leading the development of industry-leading codes of practice to detail the rules in cooperation with leading AI developers, the scientific community and other experts. Once the AI law is enforced, the AI Office will investigate possible violations of the rules, including assessments to assess model capabilities, and ask providers to take corrective action.
Finally, the AI Office prepares guidance and guidelines, implementing and delegated acts, as well as other tools to support the effective implementation of the AI Act and monitor the compliance with regulations.
The organizational structure of the European AI Office consists of five units and two advisors, reflecting its mandate. These include: the “Excellence in AI and Robotics” unit; the “Regulation and Compliance” unit; the “AI Safety” unit; the “AI Innovation and Policy Coordination” unit; the “AI for societal good” unit; Senior Scientific Advisor and Advisor for International Affairs.
What role does the AI Office play in promoting AI innovation and research? Can you tell us about your work with the GenAI4EU initiative?
The AI Office promotes an innovative ecosystem of trustworthy AI to reap societal and economic benefits.
In January 2024, the Commission launched an AI innovation package to help startups and SMEs develop AI that is reliable and complies with EU values and rules. The “GenAI4EU” initiative and the AI office were part of this package. THE ‘GenAI4EUThe initiative will contribute to the development of new use cases and emerging applications in the 14 European industrial ecosystems, as well as in the public sector. Application areas include robotics, healthcare, biotechnology, manufacturing, mobility, climate and virtual worlds.
In 2025, we will ensure access to new tailor-made supercomputing capabilities for AI start-ups and industries through an AI Factories initiative.
More generally, the Commission financially supports innovation in AI through Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe program dedicated to generative AI. This support will generate an additional overall public and private investment of around €4 billion until 2027. We have also put in place accompanying initiatives aimed at strengthening the EU’s generative AI talent pool through the through education, training, development and retraining activities. Public and private investment in AI start-ups and startups is further encouraged through venture capital or equity, including through new initiatives from the EIC Accelerator Program and InvestEU.
Furthermore, the Commission is accelerating the development and deployment of common European data spaces, made available to the AI community, for whom data is a key resource for training and improving their models.
Finally, we created the Large AI Grand Challenge, whose winners announced in June 2024 are four innovative European AI start-ups and who shared the prize of one million euros and eight million hours of calculation .
Can you give some examples of areas where you think the work of the AI Office will make the biggest difference in the years to come? Are there any initiatives already underway?
Making the EU a leader in AI innovation is a priority for the Commission for the next term, as announced by President Ursula von der Leyen in her policy guidance. President von der Leyen also announced an upcoming Apply AI strategy to drive new industrial uses of AI and improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare. We will also prioritize the creation of a European AI Research Council, which will allow us to pool all our AI research resources.
How does the AI Office ensure the development and use of trustworthy AI across the EU? How will the AI Office interact with the public on AI and its development?
The Commission aims to foster trustworthy AI across the internal market. The AI Office, together with relevant public and private stakeholders and the startup community, contributes by advancing actions and policies aimed at reaping the societal and economic benefits of AI across the EU , providing guidance on best practices and enabling easy access to AI sandboxes. , real-world testing and other European structures to support AI adoption.
The Office also encourages innovative trustworthy AI ecosystems to improve the EU’s competitiveness and economic growth, helping the Commission leverage the use of transformative AI tools and build knowledge in AI material.
Collaboration, both internationally and across disciplines, is essential to the work of the AI Office. Can you provide some examples of how these partnerships support the goals of the AI Office and the AI industry as a whole?
At the international level, the AI Office contributes to a strategic, coherent and effective EU approach, promoting the EU approach to trustworthy AI, including collaboration with similar institutions in around the world, fostering international AI cooperation and governance and supporting the development and implementation of international policies. agreements on AI.
To carry out all evidence-based and forward-looking tasks, the AI Office continuously monitors the AI ecosystem, technological and market developments, the emergence of systemic risks and any other relevant trends. Collaboration with a wide range of institutions, experts and stakeholders is essential for the AI Office.
At the institutional level, the AI Office works closely with the European Artificial Intelligence Council, made up of representatives from Member States and the Commission’s European Center for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT). The Scientific Panel composed of independent experts ensures a strong link with the scientific community. Additional technical expertise is brought together within an advisory forum, representing a balanced selection of stakeholders including industry, startups and SMEs, academia, think tanks and civil society. The AI Office can also partner with individual experts and organizations.
It will also create forums for cooperation between providers of AI models and systems, including general-purpose AI, and similarly for the open source community, to share best practices and contribute to the development codes of conduct and codes of good practice.
The AI Office also oversees the AI Pact, which allows companies to engage with the Commission and other stakeholders, for example by sharing best practices and participating in activities. This engagement began before the AI Act came into force and will allow businesses to plan and prepare for the full implementation of the AI Act.
Please note, this article will also appear in the 20th edition of our quarterly publication.
