CLAIRE receives broad mandate and funding for shaping “AI made in Europe”
The European Commission has taken a major step towards strengthening AI research in Europe by allocating 50 million Euros of seed funding, intended to prepare the ground for much larger investments in the near future. This is critically necessary to keep Europe competitive with countries such as the USA, China and Canada, which are investing substantially higher amounts into AI research and innovation.
Four of the five proposals selected for funding under ICT-48-2020 were coordinated by members of CLAIRE. These proposals include TAILOR, Humane-AI-Net and AI4Media, which will form large and diverse networks of centres of excellence in AI research, as well as VISION, which will coordinate between these and one additional network selected for funding, in order to position Europe for leadership in human-centred, trustworthy AI. This fantastic success in a highly competitive process further strengthens CLAIRE’s leading role in shaping the European AI ecosystem. Read the press release from 13 March to find out more.
On 19 February, the European Commission released a whitepaper that outlined a plan adopting all key parts of the vision for excellence in AI unveiled by CLAIRE in June 2018 (see press release from 20 February). Now, the resounding success in ICT-48-2020 confirms CLAIRE’s leading role in defining and implementing Europe’s vision for excellence in AI research and innovation.
CLAIRE will work closely, through the VISION coordination mandate as well as through our members who lead and participate in the new networks of centres of excellence, with all consortia to be funded under ICT-48-2020, towards ensuring the success of “AI made in Europe”. We will also do all we can to include those members of our research network, and of the European AI community at large, who will not directly benefit from the seed funding provided under ICT-48-2020, in the activities of the new networks, and to make sure that receive much needed support in future rounds of funding.
