European Commission invests 20 billion euros, plans to build four “AI Gigafactories” in Europe
The European Commission has now planned to invest 20 billion euros to strengthen competition after lagging behind the US and China in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Under this, there is talk of building four “AI Gigafactories” in Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled this plan last month, but experts believe that questions have been raised on how beneficial this move will actually prove to be for Europe.
Construction of the latest data center
Under this plan, large-scale public access data centers will be set up in Europe. These centers will use state-of-the-art chips, which are necessary to train AI models. The construction of these gigafactories in Europe will produce AI models that will be compliant with the EU’s AI security and data protection rules. These rules are much stricter than those in the US and China, which could open up the possibility of a new direction in the field of AI in Europe.
Challenges and questions
However, many aspects of this plan are questionable. Bertin Martens, an expert at the Bruegel think tank, says, “If we build such large computing factories in Europe, and also train a model, the question is what will ultimately be done with it?” Apart from this, Europe lacks large cloud service providers like Google and Amazon, which can make this project risky. The presence of these companies may make it a bit challenging to make European AI competitive at the global level.
Financing and partnerships
The European Commission says that a new fund of 20 billion euros will be created to finance these gigafactories, which will be run subsidiarily by the European Investment Bank. These projects will work under public-private partnerships and will help all scientists and companies in Europe to develop cutting-edge AI models. This initiative can boost innovation in the field of AI technology in Europe, which can bring significant changes in the level of competitiveness.
Chip shortage and energy crisis
Another big challenge is that the supply of required chips and availability of sufficient electricity can become a big problem in Europe. Easy access to the supply of AI chips is available for the US and China, but it is quite difficult in Europe, which raises questions about the success of this plan. Also, the energy crisis can also be a serious problem, as a huge amount of energy is required to operate state-of-the-art data centers and AI factories.
Latest supercomputers and AI applications
Under this scheme, 12 scientific supercomputer centers in Europe will also be upgraded so that they can work as AI factories. These supercomputers will be equipped with cutting-edge AI technology, which will not only increase competitiveness in the field of AI in Europe but will also inspire new technological innovations. This move will help European countries strengthen their position in the AI field globally.
