AI ACTION SUMMIT in Paris strengthening European and Dutch AI position

Global ambitions in AI are huge. The billion-dollar plans are flying around our ears. AI is BIG. In January, we saw the kickoff of this race in the U.S. with the Stargate project of between $100 billion and $500 billion. In Europe, France provided the kickoff with 30 to 50 billion for AI data centers and 109 billion for a broad AI program. The EU topped that with the €200 billion InvestAI initiative. Regarding AI regulation, positions seem to be hardening. In early February, a new part of the AI ACT went into effect (bans and AI literacy) while Trump withdrew his predecessor Biden's AI regulation and Vance warned in Paris that overly rigid AI regulation could well be the death knell for AI.

What does this staggering billion-dollar violence and this hardening regulatory battle mean for us in the Netherlands? In particular, the large investments will accelerate all kinds of AI developments. The Netherlands simply cannot afford to let this pass it by. This involves, on the one hand, cooperating in a European context with the InvestAI initiative and, on the other hand, strengthening the AI adaptation and AI absorption capacity of Dutch citizens, governments and companies.

Within AIC4NL, we are actively working on this through our international agenda including our work within ALT-EDIC, the OpenEuroLLM project, our work within Adra - AI-Data-Robotics-Association and the realization of a Dutch AI Factory as part of the European network of AI Factories. In this way, we ensure that Dutch know-how finds its way into European solutions and that the Netherlands is well connected to the latest European developments.

In addition, as AIC4NL, we are investing in skills. The success of AI will mainly depend on the efforts of citizens, businesses and governments. They must be able to understand what AI really contributes, how regulations regulate the deployment of AI and be able to map out routes for the responsible deployment of AI. We do this through our instruments Innovation Labs, our ELSA Labs, and our Learning Communities. And this is just the beginning. As AIC4NL, we will continue to invest heavily in strengthening the Dutch AI position in the coming years. The developments in AI are moving fast. Do you also want to contribute to a strong and responsible Dutch AI position? Join the largest AI community in the Netherlands and contribute to the AI of the future.